Fighting the Cobbles - My trip to Belgium in 2018, Part 9 - In Brussels (2)

This blog continues the previous Part 8,

https://gerdiwanninger.blogspot.com/2018/08/fighting-cobbles-my-trip-to-belgium-in.html

Sunday, June 24, 2018

   The city of Brussels is the capital of Belgium and divided into 19 municipalities incl. the city itself. The location is right in the center of Belgium and part of the French and Flemish community. There are around 2.1 million people living in the metropolitan area which is the largest population in all Belgium.

   Walking and pulling my sports bag behind me there are many small road signs giving the direction the French 'Mont des Arts' or Dutch 'Kunstberg'. This is the 'hill or mount of the arts' right in the center of Brussels. I followed the signs to this urban complex and historic site. It includes the Royal Library of Belgium, the National Archives, the Square - Brussels Meeting Center.

   Nearly reaching my goal I've discovered the Royal Palace of Brussels (French: Palais Royal de Bruxelles) which is the official palace of the King and Queen of the Belgians in the center of Brussels. It is not a residence but a place 'where His Majesty the King exercises his prerogatives as Head of State, grants audiences and deals with the affair of the state'. The Royal Palace houses the services of the Grand Marshal of the Court, the King's Head of Cabinet, the Head of the King's Military Household and the Intendant of the King's Civil List. The buildings include State Rooms as well as apartments provided for foreign Heads of State during official visits (wikipedia).

Royal Palace of Brussels

   Following the Rue Royal (on the right when you stand in front of the Royal Palace) I came to the Royal Square (French 'Place Royale') which is a historic neoclassical square near the center. At the center is a statue of Godfrey of Bouillon, the leader of the first crusade in 1096 riding on a horseback. Behind the statue is the neoclassical Catholic church Saint Jacques-sur-Coudenberg, consecrated in 1787. On the western side of the square is the main building of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, next to the Magritte Museum (dedicated to the work of Belgian surrealist artist René Magritte) while on the south-east side is the BELvue Museum telling the history of Belgium. 

Royal Square with the statue of Godfrey of Bouillon in the center and 

Saint Jacques-sur-Coudenberg in the background

   There I've discovered a tourist information center and went in. I stepped on a historical staircase which led me to the 2nd floor. There I showed an elderly gentlemen the address of my hotel on a picture of my camera and he showed me and marked the direction on the map. He sold me the tourist map for one Euro without receipt and put my money in his own pocket.

   Leaving the tourist information I already saw the golden roof of the Palace of Justice (French: Palais de Justice), the most important court building in Belgium. Built between 1866 and 1883 in the eclectic style it is known to be the largest building constructed in the 19th century. I followed the road and took a good look around me. Arriving at the impressive building I discovered that it was surrounded by scaffolding, meaning restoration work going on all over the building. This means not only the construction was very expensive but also the maintenance of these historical buildings take a lot of skills and use up many resources. 

Palace of Justice 

   From the Palace sitting of a hill I had to take the Lift van de Marollen to my hotel downstairs. This open air lift was the first of its kind I noticed in my whole life. You have to cross a footbridge (also for baby buggies) and down you go! It was decorated with 'flags' or 1000 T-shirts marking for me the entrance to another world far away from the historical buildings and roads I passed a few minutes before. And down I went...

Lift van de Marollen

(to be continued @

https://gerdiwanninger.blogspot.com/2018/08/fighting-cobbles-my-trip-to-belgium-in_5.html)

Disclaimer: I traveled Belgium by myself, I am not sponsored by anyone. Interested subscribers and/or followers in traveling an in this small but beautiful country are more than welcome! If not convenient to subscribe on Blogger.com, I've started my own homepage @ https://gerhardwanninger.wixsite.com/travel