| Brussels is the capital of the Belgian Kingdom ; the seat of the French and Dutch community, the seat of the Commission and the Council of the European Union and at last but not least an agglomeration of 19 municipalities that forms one of the tree of the Belgian Federal State. Located in the heart of Europe, open to the world, every years Brussels receives about 16.000 business conferences. With about one third of foreign inhabitants or of foreign origin, the Brussels Province keeps its long tradition of world-citizenship.
Woluwe-Saint-Pierre is one of the 19 Brussels municipalities that could combine calmness, greenness and well-being. Located in the east side of the Brussels periphery, Woluwe-Saint-Pierre offers you tranquillity even if you are 7 kilometers away from Brussels National Airport, 10 kilometers away from Central station (T.G.V. terminal) and about 5 minutes away from the centre of Brussels. In the residential quarters rules by meaning of great solidarity of urban fonctions a calm and quiet atmosphere.
The Grand Place :
It was not until the 15th century under the Dukes of Burgundy that the Grand-Place received its sumptuous decor, worthy of its standing as a capital. The City Hall, a building in flamboyant Gothic style, was at the time the base of the highest and the most beautiful tower of the west.
The different corporations came to install their houses around this symbol of power, it created an architectural cohesion unique in the world. The Grand-Place was not only the centre of the economic life of Brussels but also the setting for official festivities in honour of the princes and of public merrymaking.
The Cinquantenaire :
Leopold II wanted to build a triumphal monument to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of Belgian independence. Three colossal arches were built in 1905 at the entrance of the wide boulevard leading to Tervuren. Statues of women representing the provinces of the kingdom stand at their base. A bronze quadriga surmounts the imposing 19 meter attic over the arches.
Two curving colonnaded wings forming a hemicycle add to the prestigious character of the Cinquantenaire. The left wing is occupied by the Museum of the Army and Military History. The right wing hosts part of the very expensive collections of the Art and History Museum.
The Palais Royal :
At the time of the Belgian-Dutch union King William I of Holland had two eighteenth-century mansions facing the Brussels park, joined together for this palace. King Leopold I found it acceptable but his son Leopold II thought it was not fine enough for the monarchy.
In 1904 he began to remodel the Royal Palace, linking the side pavilions by means of two majestic wings accented by the double colonnate of the central portion with its pediment embellished with a low relief. The Royal Palace contains the offices of members of the Royal family.
The Cathédrale Saints-Michel-et-Gudule :
The construction of the Cathedral of Saint Michael and Gudule began in 1226 on a sandy slope till the end of the 16th century. The south tower was finished around 1461 and the north tower a few years later.
Galeries Saint-Hubert :
The neo-classical style Saint-Hubert galleries, roofed in glass, were opened by Leopold I in 1847. They were an immediate hit in this rainy city. From the beginning they were patronized by well-to-do, artists and intellectuals drawn by luxury shops, the theater, the pastry shops and cafés as they still are today. A number of foreign architects used the Saint-Hubert galleries as a model, most notably the Italian, Mangoni, when he designed the Victor-Emmanuel gallery in Milan.
Manneken Pis :
According to tradition a boy called Juliaanske , or little Julian, put out a fuse of a bomb planted to set the city on fire by urinating on it. This exploit was the origin of the Manneken Pis sculpted by Jérôme Duquesnoy in 1620 to decorate the fountain installed at the corner of the Rues du Chêne and de l'Etuve. This little fellow symbolizes the anti-authoritarian spirit of the Brusselers.
Petite Rue des Bouchers :
The two picturesque Rues des Bouchers, big and little, between the Grand-Place and the Saint-Hubert galleries in the hart of the "Ilôt Sacré" are a mecca for gastronomically minded visitors. The traditional mussels and chips are king here but all types of cuisine from around the world may be savoured in a joyful ambience as well.
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