The Hôtel de Ville, Brussels Town Hall, shows off it's Gothic splendor, complete with dozens of arched windows and sculptures. Its tower, 215 feet high, sprouts near the middle, yet it's not placed directly in the center. A colorful but untrue legend has it that when the architect realized his error, he jumped from the summit of the tower.
Just a few of the amazing details...
Maison du Roi was once the residence of ruling Spanish monarchs, but now is home to the Musée de Ville.
La Maison des Ducs de Brabant is a group of six guildhouses, and designed to look like an Italian Baroque palazzo.
This row of buildings includes Le Pigeon which was home to an exhiled Victor Hugo, and is said he wrote Les Misérables while staying there. Saint Barbara, the patroness of tailors, adorns the doorway next door at L'Ange which was once a guildhouse of tailors.
Trade guildhouses include Le Renard, guildhouse of haberdashers, Le Cornet, the Boatmen's Guildhouse with it's bow-shaped gable, and Le Maison des Boulangers built by the wealthy guild of bakers.
Of course no trip to Brussels is complete without a visit to Manneken Pis. On this particular day he was getting unveiled in his costume for the Fou du Festival du Rire de Rochefort, the opening of the comedy festival at Rochefort. A band and official spokespeople showed up for the big reveal. He has over 800 outfits which are kept at the Musée de Ville, and include a Santa suit and Elvis costume.
I know it may seem geeky, but I love finding out all of these little bits of trivia, and getting to know more about these amazing sites.
1 thoughtful people had to say...:
again with the gorgeous photos. As for trivia, I LOVE trivia. I don't think you can appreciate things in other cultures without knowing a bit of the "why" factor!
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