In front of you is the square Victor Hugo considered one of the most beautiful in the world. He knew it well: in 1852, exiled from France, he lived in one of its houses, number 26, known as Le Pigeon.

1A square of guilds

Look at the façades around you. Each was the headquarters of a craft guild, and nearly all were rebuilt after the bombardment of 1695. Bakers, brewers, boatmen and tailors competed in gold and sculpture. The brewers’ house, L’Arbre d’Or, still belongs to their federation. The Belgian Workers’ Party was founded at Le Cygne in 1885, and Karl Marx frequented the house during his exile in Brussels. Since 1998 the square has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

2The “lopsided” town hall

Look closely and you’ll see the tower is not in the centre and the two wings are different: they were built at different times. The story goes that the architect, on discovering this, threw himself from the top. It is a legend: there is no document to support it.

Every two years, in August, the square is covered with a carpet of hundreds of thousands of flowers.

3The lucky hero

Under the arcades at the south corner lies the bronze figure of Everard t’Serclaes, who won the city back from the Count of Flanders in 1356 and was murdered in 1388. The memorial, by Julien Dillens, dates from 1902. The custom of rubbing it to make a wish or ensure a return to Brussels is a recent one.

4What to look for

  • Le Pigeon, with its Victor Hugo plaque.
  • The Town Hall tower, set off-centre.
  • The polished arm of t’Serclaes.
Bronze memorial to Everard t’Serclaes under the arcades of the Grand-Place
The reclining figure’s arm shines from constant rubbing.

Documented

The guildhalls were rebuilt after 1695, Victor Hugo lived at Le Pigeon in 1852 and the square has been a World Heritage Site since 1998; Dillens’s t’Serclaes memorial dates from 1902.

Oral tradition

The architect’s suicide over the Town Hall’s asymmetry is a legend, and the ritual of rubbing t’Serclaes is a modern custom with no historical basis.

Sources and credits

UNESCO, “La Grand-Place, Brussels”; visit.brussels, “Grand-Place” and “Flower Carpet”; Inventaire du patrimoine architectural de la Région de Bruxelles-Capitale, entries on the Grand-Place houses and the Everard t’Serclaes memorial.

Photos:

  • Panorama of the Grand-Place in Brussels with the Town Hall and the guildhalls: Celuici, CC BY-SA 4.0.
  • Bronze memorial to Everard t’Serclaes under the arcades of the Grand-Place: Trougnouf (Benoit Brummer), CC BY 4.0.

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