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 the altar.*

Also of particular interest is the beautiful and original Grenzing organ.*

The flamboyantly carved Baroque Pulpit in the central aisle depicts Adam and Eve’s expulsion from Paradise. This pulpit, by the Antwerp-born sculptor Hendrik Verbruggen, was built in  1699, although it was not installed till 1776.*

*From The Belgium & Luxembourg Eyewitness Travel Guide.

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 the 11th century. Work began on the Gothic cathedral in 1226 under Henry I, Duke of Brabant, and was finally completed 300 years later at the begining of the 16th century, under the reign of Charles V. It was dedicated to the city’s patron saints, archangel Michael and a local 8th-century pious woman, St Gudule.*

The pillars of the nave are decorated with statues of the 12 apostles.

Click on photo for a short video.

*From Belgium and Luxembourg Eyewitness guide.

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 open to the public in summer. When the national flag is flying on top of the palace it means the King is in Belgium.*

*From Brussels Guide – Collection ‘Beautiful Belgium’

The Place Royal stands on the old square of a magnificent palace of the Dukes of Brabant begun in the 13th century. Embellished in 1452 by Philippe le Bon, altered and fitted out by Archduke Albert and Archduchess Isabelle, it was ruined by a fire in 1731, then rebuilt. 40 years later as a rectangular square consisting of eight XVI-style mansions linked by porticos. Saint-Jaques sur Coudnberg, the neoclassical church, dominated in the centre, since 1848, by a statue of Godefroy de Bouillon, King of Jerusalem, setting off on the First Crusade.

The medieval abbey church that originally stood on this location was demolished by command of Charles Alexander of Lorraine during his expansive urban planning projects, despite having escaped the great fire of 1731 that destroyed the nearby Coudenberg Palace. The new church was built in line with rue Montagne de la Cour/Hofberg on its present location at the Place Royale. Construction of the facade was started by architect Gilles-Barnabé Guimard after the designs of Jean-Benoît-Vincent Barré (1775). The first stone was solemnly laid by Charles Alexander of Lorraine on the 12th of February 1776. The portico was finished in 1780. The nave, transept, choir and sacristy were built under supervision of Louis Montoyer in the years 1785-1786. After the consecration of the building it was in use as abbey- and parishchurch at the same time. Moreover it was the official church of the court of the Governors of the Habsburg Netherlands. The present building was designed to serve as the Church of the Abbey of Saint-Jacques on the Coudenberg and therefore has a deep extended choir with place for choir stalls for the monks.

During the French Revolution, the abbey was suspended and the church was made into a Temple of Reason, and then later into a Temple of Law. The church was returned toCatholic control in 1802. On July 21, 1831, Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha took the oath that made him H.M. Leopold I, the first King of the Belgians, on the front steps of the church. The building lost somewhat of its typical neoclassical temple-like appearance by the addition in the 19th-century of a bell tower (after the design of Tilman-François Suys) and a coloured fresco by Jean Portaels on the pediment.

As we turn our backs to the steps that lead to the Garden of Mont des Arts we see some Art Nouveau buildings on our way to the Place Royal.

A key Art Nouveau structure, the building was erected in Brussels in 1886. Now fully restored, these former “Old England” shops have regained their full glory. The marvelous museum has an amazing collection of some 7000 instruments representing a large number of countries. The central tower welcomes visitors to a pleasant tea room with a sweeping view of the city.

If I had known about the tea room when we were there, I would have made sure that we visited and rested a while there

The square is surrounded by Brussels’ Town Hall, nearly forty guildhalls and other beautiful buildings from the 14th to 17th century. The 110 by 68 metre Grand Place is also home of the Flower Carpet, a bi-annual event featuring the creation of a colorful carpet design using more 700,000 cut begonias.

La Grand Place has been used as a town square since the 12th century (then called ‘Nedermarckt’), but also played a negative role in the history of the Belgian city. In the 16th and 17th century, hundreds of people have been executed on the town square for various reasons. Witches and protestants were burnt at the stake, while rebellians and other villains were decapitated. Needless to say that the the current role, as the bright center of Brussels, is much more positive.

Brussels Town Hall is one of the Belgium’s finest civic buildings. Not only because of the numerous sculptures adorning its walls, but also because of its perfect proportions and the incomparable beauty of its tower, the spire of which is topped by the archangel Saint Michael, Brussels laid the foundation stone of the magnificent Gothic edifice in the spring of 1402. In 1695, when the city was bombarded by Marshal de Villeroy, the Town Hall was destroyed by fire.

Atop the spire on the square tower body, stands a 5-meter-high gilt metal statue of the Archangel Michael, the patron saint of Brussels, slaying a dragon or devil. The 96 meter high tower is in Brabantine Gothic style.

The facade of the town hall is decorated with numerous statues representing nobles, saints, and allegorical figures. The present figures are not the originals. The Grand Place was bombed in 1695 by the French. The damaged townhall had to be reconstructed.

We were even later for breakfast this morning but when we arrived we were greeted with ‘Good Morning, would you like a glass of Champagne, it is a Belgium custom’. It would have been rude to refuse such an offer, and as luck would have it, strawberries were also available on the breakfast bar. Their tastes complemented each other perfectly. After the strawberries, I had cheese and continental breads. What a great start to the day

After breakfast we made our way through ‘De Langste Dag 2015′ street fair (which were told, whilst dining the previous evening, is a festival with shops displaying bargains on street stalls and  artists performing in street theatre) towards the train station to visit Brussels for the day. Buying a return ticket from the machine was quite simple and we were even recommended a cheaper option, weekend ticket for consideration.

Once in Brussels we took a few minutes to get our bearings and make our way to the Grand Place. On our way there we came across the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula so we spent some time inside. We then continued to the Grand Place to try and locate a waffle cafe that we had enjoyed on a previous visit to Brussels. During our search, we ended up by the Mannequin Pis who was dressed in a Napoleonic uniform quite fitting for the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo. We located the waffle outlet and found that it had changed from the quaint cafe we had found on our previous visit to a fast food (waffle) outlet. The waffles were excellent although there was a bit too much chocolate for my taste.

After lunch, we headed back to the Grand Place where we lingered to take a few photos. As we did so we could hear music and banging of drums. We thought it might be some sort of demonstration marching just outside the square. As I waited for one last photo of the entrance to the town hall without people crowding in front of it, the sound of music and drums entered the square behind me. I noticed they were re-enactors of the Napoleonic period. They proceeded to march round the edge of the square and through the town hall archway. I  suspect they may have been part of the official 200th anniversary celebrations, especially as there were a few police officers nearby moving some daft members of public out of the way of the procession.

After this unexpected bonus we made our way towards the Royal Palace, taking in several viewpoints along the way. These included The Albertine, The Musical Instruments Museum and the Place Royale which we initially thought was the Royal Palace. On closer inspection we found the Place Royale building was the church of Saint Jacques-sur-Coudenberg in front of which is the statue of the first king of Jerusalem setting off on the first crusade. We then located the Palace which was just around the corner. After viewing the outside of the palace we made our way back to the station through the Royal Park and, as we neared the Cathedral, I enjoyed the sound of the Cathedral bells  heralding the start of a church service.

We didn’t have to wait long for our train back to Leuven. We were able to enjoy Leuven’s longest day celebrations (‘De Langste Dag 2015′) as we walked from the station to the city centre. We really enjoyed the street artist entertainment which included two strange pseudo-strippers wearing skin coloured body suits with accompanying hair; they were darting through the streets pretending to be embarrassed by their ‘nakedness’. However the stars of these shows were the fabulous dinosaur puppets strolling through the streets, feeding from the trees and bending their heads down to engage with the crowd. At one point a dinosaur head bumped against my head so I bent down to let it pass by. The dinosaur had other ideas and put its head on top of mine so that I could not move. The operator of the dinosaur head was grinning at me. At this moment Mr C’s camera decided to have a flat battery so there are no photographs of the moment.

We stopped in the square for a drink and soaked up the lively atmosphere and enjoyed a bit of banter with the proprietor  of the beer shop whilst purchasing Waterloo beer and a commemorative Waterloo chalice, before returning to the hotel to freshen up before dinner. We chose to return to a restaurant that we had previously dined in and it was just as good as the first time we ate there.