|
The fame and beauty of the Market Place does not lie only
in the Town Hall and the King's House, but perhaps first
of all in the presence of a remarkably beautiful set of
elaborately decorated guild houses. The name "guild houses"
is most commonly used for the entire set of houses, although
in reality they did not all belong to the medieval guilds.
Some of the houses were always privately owned.
During the Middle Ages and later every city in the Low
Countries had guilds or corporations which always had a
stake in the city administration. Because they were very
wealthy and politically powerful , their importance had
to show in their houses in which they regularly met to discuss
new rules or regulations within their specific trade or
commerce.
In Brussels the guilds built their houses, of course, around
the main town square. After the French bombardment of August
1695, the city ordered the guilds to submit the restoration
plans of the houses before a final approval could be given
for the construction. Because of this wise decision the
unity of style could be preserved and former irregularities
could be done away with.
In the Middle Ages no house numbers were given , but names.
There were so few stone houses that most people could locate
a house just by its name. On the Grand-Place the names of
the houses are often indicated by a little statue or some
part of the decoration. Here follows a list of the houses
with their names and eventual specific historic details.
The list starts at the group of houses on the left side
of the Town Hall and continues clockwise.
|
