The palace and gardens of Coudenberg in 1659

Coudenberg (older Dutch for cold hill) is a small hill in Brussels where the Palace of Coudenberg was built. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Nickname: Map showing the location of Brussels in Belgium Coordinates: , Country Belgium Region Brussels-Capital Region Founded 979 Founded (Region) June 18, 1989 Government  - Mayor (Municipality) Freddy Thielemans Area  - Region 162 km²  (62. ...

For nearly 700 years, the Castle and then the Palace of Coudenberg were the seat of government of the counts, dukes, archdukes, kings, emperors and governors who from the 11th century until its destruction in 1731, exerted their sovereignty over the area of the Duchy of Brabant, now in the southern Netherlands and northern Belgium. Events 10 Downing Street becomes the official residence of the United Kingdoms Prime Minister when Robert Walpole moves in. ... Brabant is a former duchy in the Low Countries, and a former province of Belgium. ...

Today, after several years of excavations, the archaeological vestiges of the palace, its foundations, can be visited.

History

About 1100, the counts of Leuven and Brussels left the bottom of the valley of the Zenne and built their castle on the heights of Coudenberg from where they could dominate the small city. With the creation of the Duchy of Brabant in 1183 by the German Emperor Frederik Barbarossa, Coudenberg gained in importance and was included within the first great wall built around Brussels. The hunting park of the dukes led down the hill to the north, a remnant of which is now Brussels Park. Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... The Zenne (Dutch) or Senne (French) is a small river that flows through Brussels. ... Brabant is a former duchy in the Low Countries, and a former province of Belgium. ... Frederick Barbarossa in a 13th century chronicle. ... Parc de Bruxelles (French) or Warandepark (Dutch), wrongly called Parc Royal in French, is the largest urban public park in the center of Brussels. ...

Statue of an Apostle, 15th Century - Coudenberg

With the second enclosure of the city, following the 1356 occupation by Louis II of Flanders, the castle no longer is necessary as a primary defense, and it gradually is converted from a military strong point into a residential palace. After 1430 when Brabant was annexed by inheritance to Burgundy, Philip the Good build new wings for the palace, embellish the park, and built the Aula Magna, the gigantic room for royal receptions and other pageantry. The first regular meetings of the States-General, composed of delegates from the middle-class, clergy and of the nobility of the Burgundian Netherlands, were held there in 1465 . Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1920 × 2560 pixel, file size: 2. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1920 × 2560 pixel, file size: 2. ... Louis II of Flanders (October 25, 1330, Mâle – January 30, 1384, Lille), known as Louis of Mâle, was the son of Louis I of Flanders and Marguerite of France, and Count of Flanders. ... Brabant is a former duchy in the Low Countries, and a former province of Belgium. ... The Duchy of Burgundy, today Bourgogne, has its origin in the small portion of traditional lands of Burgundians west of river Saône which in 843 was allotted to Charles the Balds kingdom of West Franks. ... Philip III, Duke of Burgundy (Philip the Good or Philippe le Bon) (1396–1467) was Duke of Burgundy from 1419 until his death. ... The States-General (Staten-Generaal) is the parliament of the Netherlands. ... In the history of the Low Countries, the Burgundian Netherlands refers to the period when the dukes of Burgundy ruled the area, as well as Luxembourg and northern France from 1384 to 1477. ... Events July 13 - Battle of Montlhéry Troops of King Louis XI of France fight inconclusively against an army of the great nobles organized as the League of the Public Weal. ...

It was in this room that in 1515, Margaret of Austria formally relinquished her regency over the Low Countries to Charles von Habsburg, and the future emperor Charles V became the Duke of Burgundy . It is in this same room that forty years later Charles V abdicated in favor of his son, King Philip II of Spain. During his reign, Charles V created Bailles Square (Baliënplein or Place des Bailles) in front of the palace, build galleries and rooms in Renaissance style and set up the Grand Chapel in late Gothic style in memory of his parents, Philip the Handsome and Joanna of Castile. The Archduchess Margaretha of Austria (10 January 1480 – 1 December 1530) was a Habsburg princess, the daughter of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor and Mary of Burgundy. ... Charles V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was ruler of the Burgundian Netherlands (1506-1555), King of Spain (1516-1556), King of Naples and Sicily (1516-1554), Archduke of Austria (1519-1521), King of the Romans (or German King), (1519-1556 but did not formally abdicate until 1558) and... The Duchy of Burgundy, today Bourgogne, has its origin in the small portion of traditional lands of Burgundians west of river Saône which in 843 was allotted to Charles the Balds kingdom of West Franks. ... Philip II (Spanish: Felipe II de Habsburgo; Portuguese: Filipe I) (May 21, 1527 – September 13, 1598) was the first official King of Spain from 1556 until 1598, King of Naples and Sicily from 1554 until 1598, King consort of England (as husband of Mary I) from 1554 to 1558, Lord... Philip the Handsome (July 22, 1478 – September 25, 1506; Spanish: ; German: ; French: ) was the son of the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I. Through his mother Mary of Burgundy he inherited the greater part of the Burgundian state the Burgundian Netherlands and through his wife Joanna the Mad he briefly succeeded... Joanna of Aragon and Castile (Spanish: Juana de Aragón y de Castilla) (November 6, 1479 – April 12, 1555), called Joanna the Mad (Juana La Loca), Queen regnant of Castile and mother of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, was the second daughter of Ferdinand, king of Aragon, and Isabella...

In the 17th Century, under their reign as the sovereigns of the Spanish Netherlands, Archdukes Albert and Isabelle establish their court in Coudenberg. The archdukes restore the façade of the palace, they transform the buildings and refit the apartments and the gardens. The street which skirts the Aula Magna and the chapel is elongated up to the church of Saint-Michael-and-Gudula, the future cathedral, and is renamed Isabelle Street. As art lovers, the archdukes bring to their court the best artists of the time, among which are Jan Brueghel and Rubens, to decorate the palace with their works. St. ...

On the night of February 3, 1731, fire broke out in the kitchens and quickly engulfed the entire palace. The freezing conditions made it difficult to deliver any supply of water and the means of firefighting were very insufficient. In the morning, the palace is in ruins with many of the works of art destroyed along with the governmental archives. Only the chapel was saved. The court moved elsewhere. Unfortunately money was not available for rebuilding, so for more than forty years, the ruins of the palace remained. It was only in 1774, that Charles Alexander of Lorraine proposed replacing the ruins with a Royal Square. Because of the architectural clash between the Gothic chapel and the surrounding buildings, the chapel was torn down. Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine (December 12, 1712 – July 4, 1780) was the son of Leopold Joseph, Duke of Lorraine. ...

Under the Chapel - Coudenberg

Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 383 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1623 × 2541 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 383 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1623 × 2541 pixel, file size: 1. ...

Modern

Just off the southwest corner of Brussels Park, lies the Royal Square (Place Royale or Koningsplein) which was built atop the ruins of the old Palace. Originally a statue of Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine, the then (1780) governor of Austrian Netherlands, by Peter Anton von Verschaffelt was placed in the square. The statute was not equestrian, but showed Charles-Alexander standing, attending to the affairs of government. Unfortunately, following the French Revolution and during the occupation of Brussels by the French, it was melted down for the value of the metal. The current equestrian statue is of a young Godfrey of Bouillon. A new statue of Charles-Alexander of Lorraine was eventually placed nearby in the Museum Square. Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine (December 12, 1712 – July 4, 1780) was the son of Leopold Joseph, Duke of Lorraine. ... 1780 was a leap year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Originally the term Netherlands referred to a much larger entity than the current Kingdom of the Netherlands. ... Peter Anton von Verschaffelt Peter Anton von Verschaffelt (8 May 1710 in Ghent, Flanders, Belgium - 5 July 1793 in Mannheim, Germany) was a Flemish sculptor and architect. ... The French Revolution (1789–1815) was a period of political and social upheaval in the political history of France and Europe as a whole, during which the French governmental structure, previously an absolute monarchy with feudal privileges for the aristocracy and Catholic clergy, underwent radical change to forms based on... Godfrey of Bouillon, from a tapestry painted in 1420 Godfrey of Bouillon (c. ...

The Royal Square on the Coudenberg is faced by the beautiful (reformed) church of St. Jacob-on-the-Coudenberg. It was built by two French architects, Montoyer and Guimard, in classic style from 1776 to 1780. In the 19th century the dome and two side wings were added.

There are a number of other buildings on Coudenberg including Belgium’s General Accounting/Auditing Office (Rekenhof or Cour des Comptes); the Royal Chapel, built in 1761 with a Louis XVI - style interior; the Palace of Lorraine; and the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium. The Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium (French: Les Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique; Dutch: Koninklijke Musea voor Schone Kunsten van België), situated in Brussels, includes some 20,000 paintings, sculptures and drawings. ...

References

This article is based in part on material from the French Wikipedia.

External links

• The Former Palace of Brussels - The Archaeological Site of Coudenberg