Grand
Place has to be the number one serious attraction
for tourists. Tourists meander in to the Square from
one of the many narrow side streets and gaze in awe
at the magnificent fine architecture of the baroque
guildhalls, the gorgeous Hotel de Ville (town hall),
sidewalk cafés and pubs, and the many cozy
restaurants. It has a lure – even though it
is quite a large square, if you are not looking for
it, you may miss the Grand Place – it is hidden
away in the center of the Old Town part of Brussels
and is accessed only through the narrow alleys that
abruptly stop and meld into one large cobblestone
square.
The pubs and cafes and restaurants extend three floors
up – and there’s nothing like a view of
the square from a window seat on the second or third
floor. In Winter go into one of the coffee houses,
warm yourself at the huge open fires, try and get
a window seat and have a hot chocolate drink and a
luscious cake – settle comfortably and watch
the world go by. In summer, there are tables outside
and you can sit at ground level people-watching.
The Grand Place’s history
goes back to the 12th century when it was a marshland
but that quickly changed in the 14th century as Brussels’s
cloth and merchandise trade grew in bounds and leaps
– the increased trade enabled the establishment
of the Grande Place, the Guild houses
on the square, and the side streets with names such
as Rue au Beurre (butter street), butchers street
- Rue des Bouchers, and Rue du Marche aux Poulets
(Chicken market street). Lastly, the magnificent baroque-style
Hotel de Ville was built – ensuring that the
Grand Place would be and stay the commercial, political,
and social hub of Brussels (see Logan & Cole Brussels
guidebook for further information).
Along came 1695 and the French King Louis IXV ordered
an attack on Brussels – leveling many of the
homes, most of the guild halls, and 16 churches. The
Hotel de Ville (Town Hall) escaped unscathed
though despite the cannon balls – it still has
the beautiful stone reliefs and a impressive Gothic-looking
100m-high tower – on the top is a statue of
St. Michel, the city’s patron. Luckily for the
Belgians (and for us tourists!) the French missed
their mark.
Take a look at the Town Hall and
when you look at it face on, the left half is bigger
than the right half – the left half was built
in 1402, but the second part wasn’t added until
1444. Apparently one of the guild houses took up too
much space so they had to settle for a smaller right
half! The Town Hall is open at different times during
the day and Guided tours are offered at 3:15 pm on
Tuesday and Wednesday (with an tour at 12:15 pm on
Sunday in the summertime.
But the draw of the Grand Place is not due to the
Hotel de Ville alone, the impressive, ornate Guild
Houses account for much of the attractiveness of the
square. The Guildhalls were erected by each
merchant Guild and each one would adorn their
Guildhalls with guilded statues and intricate drawings
symbolizing their trade. After the destruction of
their Guildhalls, the merchant Guilds came together
and rebuilt with stone.
Aslo check out the main guild houses around
the Square. Number 2. Maison des Boulangers
(Bakers’ House). Number 3 The Greasemakers -
look for the mark of a gold wheelbarrow. Number 4
is the Cabinet Makers and Coopers and the original
facade is partially intact. Number 7 is the Guiild
of the Haberdashers and was rebuilt in 1699 (see the
St Nicholas statue on top). Number 6 is the Guild
of the boatmen - recognizable by the exquisitely detailed
stern-shaped gable ..... and so it goes on and on
around the square.
Grand Place is also the site for the amazing Flower
Carpet (tapis de fleurs) laid every second
year - spectacular in mid August - the even years
2002, 2004, and so on.
TOP
10 ATTRACTIONS IN BRUSSELS
1 Manneken
Pis statue MORE
….
2 The Grand
Place Square ....
MORE …
3 Musée
de la Ville de Bruxelles
. MORE
...
4 Musée
du Costume et de la Dentelle
MORE....
5 Galeries
St. Hubert MORE
....
6 Rue
des Bouchers MORE
.....
7 Cathédrale
des Sts Michel & Gudule
MORE ....
8 Belgian
Centre for Comic Strip Art MORE
...
9 The Rue
Neuve Area MORE
....
10 The Atomium
MORE.
...
