Palais de Justice

Palais de Justice Review

Many a nasty comment— "the ugliest building in Europe," for instance—has been made about Leopold II's giant late-19th-century law courts on the site of the old Gallows Hill. Ugly as the building may be, the panoramic views from the balustrade facing the city center are great. Much of the Marolles district was pulled down to make way for the monstrosity, leaving thousands homeless. Visitors are only allowed into the entrance hall, where you can see the shrine to the young girls killed by notorious pedophile Marc Dutroux in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The mishandling of that case shook the country to its core and led to the resignation of several government officials, as well as an overhaul of the police department.