Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, is a region of Belgium comprising 19 municipalities, including the City of Brussels, which is the capital of Belgium. The Brussels-Capital Region is located in the central portion of the country and is a part of both the French Community of Belgium and the Flemish Community, but is separate from the Flemish Region and the Walloon Region, located less than 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) to the south. Historically Dutch-speaking, Brussels saw a language shift to French from the late 19th century. Nowadays, the Brussels-Capital Region is officially bilingual in French and Dutch, although French is the majority language and lingua franca. Brussels is also increasingly becoming multilingual. English is spoken widely and many migrants and expatriates speak other languages as well.
The Grand-Place or Grote Markt is the central square of Brussels, Belgium. It is surrounded by opulent Baroque guildhalls of the former Guilds of Brussels and two larger edifices; the city's Flamboyant Town Hall, and the neo-Gothic King's House or Bread House building, containing the Brussels City Museum. The square measures 68 by 110 metres and is entirely paved.
Schaerbeek or Schaarbeek is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the north-eastern part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Etterbeek, Evere and Saint-Josse-ten-Noode. In common with all of Brussels' municipalities, it is legally bilingual (French–Dutch).
Victor Pierre Horta was a Belgian architect and designer, and one of the founders of the Art Nouveau movement. He was a fervent admirer of the French architectural theorist Eugène Viollet-le-Duc and his Hôtel Tassel in Brussels (1892–93), often considered the first Art Nouveau house, is based on the work of Viollet-le-Duc. The curving stylized vegetal forms that Horta used in turn influenced many others, including the French architect Hector Guimard, who used it in the first Art Nouveau apartment building he designed in Paris and in the entrances he designed for the Paris Metro. He is also considered a precursor of modern architecture for his open floor plans and his innovative use of iron, steel and glass.
Paul Saintenoy was a Belgian architect, teacher, architectural historian, and writer.
The Palace of Justice of Brussels or Law Courts of Brussels is a courthouse in Brussels, Belgium. It is the country's most important court building, seat of the judicial arrondissement of Brussels, as well as of several courts and tribunals, including the Court of Cassation, the Court of Assizes, the Court of Appeal of Brussels, the Tribunal of First Instance of Brussels, and the Bar Association of Brussels.
The Brussels Stock Exchange, abbreviated to BSE, was founded in Brussels, Belgium, by decree of Napoleon in 1801. In 2002, the BSE merged with the Amsterdam, Lisbon and Paris stock exchanges into Euronext, renaming the BSE Euronext Brussels. The most well known stock market index on the BSE is the BEL20.
Paul Hankar was a Belgian architect and furniture designer, and an innovator in the Art Nouveau style.
Gustave Strauven was a Belgian architect of the Art Nouveau style. He created more than 30 buildings, using new technologies and incorporating wrought iron floral motifs.
Schaerbeek railway station or Schaarbeek railway station is a railway station in the municipality of Schaerbeek in Brussels, Belgium, opened in 1887. The train services are operated by the National Railway Company of Belgium (NMBS/SNCB).
The Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Brussels is an art school in Brussels, Belgium, founded in 1711. Starting from modest beginnings in a single room in Brussels' Town Hall, it has since 1876 been operating from a former convent and orphanage in the Rue du Midi/Zuidstraat, which was converted by the architect Victor Jamaer. The school has played an important role in training leading local artists.
Saint-Géry Island or Sint-Goriks Island was the largest island in the river Senne in Brussels, Belgium. It was named after Saint Gaugericus of Cambrai, who according to legend, built a chapel there around 580. It ceased to exist as an island when the Senne was covered over in the late 19th century, and a former covered market, the Halles Saint-Géry/Sint-Gorikshallen, was built in its centre. Since the late 20th century, this building has been rehabilitated as an exhibition space.
The Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History, also known as the Royal Military Museum, is a military museum that occupies the two northernmost halls of the historic complex in the Parc du Cinquantenaire/Jubelpark in Brussels, Belgium. This site is served by the metro stations Schuman and Merode on lines 1 and 5.
Henri van Dievoet was a Belgian architect.
The Rue Royale or Koningsstraat is a street in Brussels, Belgium, running through the municipalities of Schaerbeek, Saint-Josse-ten-Noode and the City of Brussels. It is limited to the south by the Place Royale/Koningsplein in the city centre and to the north by the Place de la Reine/Koninginplein in Schaerbeek.
Victor Rousseau also known as M. Victor Rousseau, was a Belgian sculptor and medalist.
Saint Mary's Royal Church is a Catholic parish church located on the Place de la Reine/Koninginneplein in the Brussels municipality of Schaerbeek, Belgium. Officially dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption, it is popularly associated with Queen Louise-Marie, first Queen of the Belgians, as is the square where it is located, which earned it the title of "Royal".
Gustave Hansotte (1827-1886) was a 19th-century Belgian architect, representative of neoclassical architecture and eclectic architecture of Belgium.
The Art Nouveau movement of architecture and design first appeared in Brussels, Belgium, in the early 1890s, and quickly spread to France and to the rest of Europe. It began as a reaction against the formal vocabulary of European academic art, eclecticism and historicism of the 19th century, and was based upon an innovative use of new materials, such as iron and glass, to open larger interior spaces and provide maximum light; curving lines such as the whiplash line; and other designs inspired by plants and other natural forms.
The Art Deco movement of architecture and design appeared in Brussels, Belgium, immediately after World War I when the famed architect Victor Horta began designing the Centre for Fine Arts, and continued until the beginning of World War II in 1939. It took its name from the International Exposition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts held in Paris in 1925. At the end of World War II, Art Deco in Brussels faded to make way for the modernist and international architectural styles that would mark the postwar period.
