Town+Hall

The Town Hall of the City of Brussels is a Gothic building from the Middle Ages. The East wing is the oldest part completed in 1420 under direction of Jacob van Thienen. A second wing was added by Guillaume de Vogel in 1490 a somewhat longer wing honoring Charles the Bold.

On top of the spire stands a five meter gilt metal statue of the Archangle of Michael, patron saint of Brussels, slaying a dragon or devil. The front archway and main building are off-Centre relative to one another, when the architect discovered this mistake he jumped to his death from the top of the tower. In 1695 it was gutted due to a fire caused by the French Army destroying the archives and the art collections. The inside was rebuilt, and two wings were added, rear wings transformed the L-shaped building into its present shape a quadrilateral with an inner courtyard completed by Corneille Van Nerven in 1712.

Inside the beautiful building is home to some amazing statues honoring nobles, saints and allegorical figures. Today there are several tapestries, paintings, and sculptures, largely representing subjects of importance in local and regional history.