Stage 4
Stage 4
Rue de la Régence, the Palace of Justice and the Marolles
Neoclassicism, neo-baroque & eclecticism
Head down Rue de la Régence towards the Palace of Justice and discover an eclectic mix of neo-baroque and neoclassical architecture along the way. No sooner have you left the square than you can admire, on your left, the former palace of the Count of Flanders, now the Court of Auditors, in this superb eclectic and neo-baroque building. Just a few short steps away, on the other side of the street, is the grandiose entrance to the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, a building built in an eclectic style, with a preference for classical aesthetics.
Just before reaching the Sablon, you’ll come across another imposing building: a piece of brutalism in this world of neoclassicism with the former extension of the Cour des Comptes, now home to the Korean Cultural Center.
It’s impossible to miss the nearby Our Lady of the Sablon church, which separates the Grand Sablon (on your right, behind the church) from the Petit Sablon on your left. This gothic monument, built in the 15th and 16th centuries, was restored and modified, mainly in a neo-gothic style, at the end of the 19th century.
If you feel like taking a break, you can enjoy the greenery of the Petit Sablon or sit in one of the cafés and bars of the Grand Sablon.
Back on Rue de la Régence, head towards the Palace of Justice. Right around the corner, at number 9, is an old, private mansion in an eclectic neo-Louis XVI style, renovated at the end of the 1980s in a postmodernist style (another anachronism!). You’ll find more eclecticism and neoclassicism at 11, 13, 15, 21, 23-25, 26, 27 (with a touch of neo-Renaissance), 29 (the institution of the Sisters of Our Lady with its touch of neo-baroque) and at 33, 34 to 48 and 67.
On the other side of the street, don't miss the French neo-Renaissance style Royal Conservatory of Music and, further along, at n° 32, Brussels’ Synagogue, built between 1875 and 1878 in a Romanesque-Byzantine style.
You now find yourself in front of Brussels’ imposing Palace of Justice, on Place Poelaert, named after the architect who designed the building in 1862. Its construction lasted from 1866 to 1883, in an eclectic style of Greco-Roman inspiration. It remains one of the most remarkable monuments of 19th century Europe.
Next, we move on to the Marolles district. Take the lift to the right of the Palace of Justice to reach the lower part of the city. Walk down the square to Rue Haute, an architectural mix that spans the 16th to 19th centuries. Bruegel house stands at n° 132. Built in the 16th century in a Flemish Renaissance style, it once belonged to the family of the famous painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder.