Brussels : Day 2 - Grand Place

The Grand Place or Grote Markt in Dutch is one of the most beautiful squares in Europe with architecture from 3 different eras (Baroque, Gothic and Louis XIV) making their marks on the square giving it an eclectic flavour. This eclectic quality earned the Grand Place a listing as one of the Sites of World Heritage by UNESCO in 1998.

Grand Place is surrounded by Guild Hall, City's Town Hall and Bread House.

Town Hall/ Hotel de Ville/Stadhius is a masterpiece of gothic civil architecture of 15th century. it  stands 98m (315ft) tall, capped by 3m (12 ft) statue of Saint Michael slaying a demon.

 

 

 Guild Houses (top & bottom pic) is the term commonly used for entire set of houses. During middle ages, every city in low countries had guilds or corporation which had a stake in the city's administration. the pic above is the House of Duke of Brabant.

 when we were at the square, the Brussels Jazz Marathon was being held. the square was packed with people and the stage blocked the view of The Bread House or Broodhuis(in dutch) or Maison du Roi (in French). see pic below.
 in the beginning of 13th century, Bread House was used by bakers to sell bread, hence the name. now it is used as City Museum.