Grand Place

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Categories: World Heritage Sites in Belgium | Brussels | Visitor attractions in Brussels | Town squares

Grand-Place, Brussels*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Image:Grand place brussels WQ3.jpg
State Party	Belgium
Type	Cultural
Criteria	ii, iv
Reference	857
Region†	Europe and North America
Inscription history
Inscription	1998 (22nd Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. † Region as classified by UNESCO.

The Grote Markt (Dutch) or Grand Place (French) is the central market square of Brussels. It is surrounded by guild houses, the city's Town Hall and the Bread House (Dutch: Broodhuis, French: Maison du Roi). The square is the most important tourist destination and most memorable landmark in Brussels next to the Atomium and Manneken Pis.

History

The Town Hall was constructed between 1402 and 1455. The original architect was probably Jacob van Thienen. The gothic tower was designed by architect Jan van Ruysbroeck. At the top of the 97 meter (318 feet) tower stands a statue of St. Michael, the patron of Brussels.

In the 13th century the predecessor of the Bread House was a wooden building where bakers sold their bread in a covered market. Its Dutch name Broodhuis recalls this function. It was replaced in the 15th century by a stone building for the administration of the duke of Brabant. When the duchy fell to the Habsburgs, the Maison du Duc (Duke's house) became the Maison du Roi (King's house), the latter being the current French name of the building. In 1873, the city entrusted architect Victor Jamaer to restore the battered structure in neo-gothic style.

The Town Hall

The Grand Place was first laid out after the construction of the town hall, at the centre of the city's commercial district. Neighboring streets still reflect the area's origins, named after the sellers of butter, cheese, herring, coal and so on. The original Grand Place was a medley of buildings constructed between the 15th and 17th centuries in a variety of styles.

A view of "L'ange" or de Engel (The Angel) on the Grand Place

On August 13, 1695, a 70,000-strong French army under Marshal François de Neufville, Duke of Villeroy began a bombardment of Brussels in an effort to draw the League of Augsburg's forces away from their siege on French-held Namur in what is now southern Belgium. The French launched a massive bombardment of the mostly defenseless city centre with cannons and mortars, setting it on fire and flattening the majority of the Grand Place and the surrounding city. Only the stone shell of the town hall and a few fragments of other buildings remained standing. That the town hall survived at all is ironic, as it was the principal target of the artillery fire.

The square was rebuilt in the following four years by the city's guilds. Their efforts were regulated by the city councilors and the Governor of Brussels, who required that their plans be submitted to the authorities for their approval. This helped to deliver a remarkably harmonious layout for the rebuilt Grand Place, despite the ostensibly clashing combination of Gothic, Baroque and Louis XIV styles.

Trivia

The Grand Place was named by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1998. One of the houses was owned by the brewers' guild, and is now the home of a brewers' museum.

The square is a pilgrimage site for fans of the cult BBC television series Secret Army, the second and third series of which were filmed here in 1978 and 1979, specifically around the building that is now Maxim's restaurant.