Place Royale

Place Royale Review

There's a strong dash of Vienna in this white, symmetrical square; it was built in the neoclassical style by Austrian overlords. Elegantly proportioned, it is the centerpiece of the Upper Town, which became the center of power during the 18th century. The equestrian statue in its center, representing Godefroid de Bouillon, Belgian crusader and King of Jerusalem, is a romantic afterthought. The buildings are being restored one by one, leaving the facades intact. Place Royale was built on the ruins of the palace of the Dukes of Brabant, which had burned down. The site has been excavated, and it is possible to see the underground digs and the main hall, Aula Magna, where Charles V was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 1519 and where, 37 years later, he abdicated to retire to a monastery. The church on the square, St-Jacques-sur-Coudenberg, was originally designed to look like a Greek temple. After the French Revolution reached Belgium, it briefly served as a "Temple of Reason." The Art Nouveau building on the northwest corner is the former Old England department store, home of the Musée des Instruments de Musique.

On or near place Royale are the Hôtel Ravenstein (rue Ravenstein 3), built in the 15th century and the only surviving aristocratic house from that period; and the Palais des Beaux-Arts (rue Ravenstein 23), an Art Deco concert hall, designed in the 1920s by Victor Horta and remarkable more for the ingenuity with which he overcame its tricky location than for its aesthetic appeal.