Archive for the tag 'Belgium'

The two half-relief figures of  wolves above the gateway are the only remainders of this edifice. The right-hand wall runs steeply up toward the Naamestraat to a ruin that is accesible via an outside staircase. The gateway appears to be an archway, but it was probably a wall tower in which a passageway to the [...]

2 Comments CherryPie on Sep 14th 2015

Owing to the ransackings by Protestant iconoclasts in 1579 and thefts by  French Revolutionists in 1793, the interior of the cathedral is far less rich than it was in medieval times. It nonetheless contains some fine stained glass, such as the Last Judgement Window, dating from 1528, on the west front of the cathedral, facing [...]

10 Comments CherryPie on Sep 11th 2015

Although it is the national church of Belgium. Cathedrale Sts-Michel-et-Gudule was granted cathedral status only in 1962. It was built with a sandy limestone brought from the local quarries and is one of the finest surviving examples of Brabant Gothic Gothic architecture
There has been a church on the site of the cathedral since at least [...]

12 Comments CherryPie on Sep 10th 2015

4 Comments CherryPie on Sep 8th 2015

Palace of the Nation houses the parliament today. This forms an harmonious part of the perspective of Parc de Bruxelles. A symbolic site of the Belgian revolution of 1830, it was occupied by the people of Brussels during the attack against the Dutch.*

*From Brussels Guide – Collection ‘Beautiful Belgium’

2 Comments CherryPie on Sep 7th 2015

Consisting of two 18th-century mansions joined together by King William I of Holland. It was Leopold II who extended it into a royal palace by designing a new facade combining the side pavilions by two symmetrical wings and a portico surmounted by a sculpted pediment. It houses the offices of the royal family and is [...]

8 Comments CherryPie on Sep 5th 2015

A fountain with 9 jets of water is at the centre of the garden. The stairs that lead to the garden are decorated with reliefs of Oscar Jespers, Charles Leplae and Rik Poot. The rows of trees lead towards the statue of King Albert I on his horse below. On the right, little fountains and [...]

8 Comments CherryPie on Aug 28th 2015

Older Posts »