Belgium and Luxembourg (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

A PORTRAIT OF BELGIUM AND LUXEMBOURG 29

Kasteel Ooidonk,

built in 1595 as a

grand country resi-

dence in Flemish

Renaissance style,

shows Spanish

influence in its

bulb-shaped spires.

The Oude Griffie in

Bruges was built

in Renaissance

style over 1534–7.

Its rectangular

windows and

Classical columns

represented a com-

plete break from

the pointed arches

of the Gothic style.

St-Carolus

Borromeuskerk in

Antwerp was the

first Baroque

church in Belgium.

Antwerp’s Stadhuis (built 1561–4),

shows how Renaissance architec-

ture was adapted with creative

swagger to produce a Flemish

Renaissance style. This is

seen particularly in the

crest of its centrepiece,

with sculpture and

gilding adding flair

to the Classical col-

umns and pediment.

The St-Servaasbasiliek at

Grimbergen, built between 1660

and 1725, is one of the great

Baroque churches of Belgium,

a bold, triumphant expression

of the Counter-Reformation.

The Grand Place in Brussels (see p56–7)

is lined with guildhouses that were

rebuilt after 1695 in the Baroque

manner. This style was an exuberant

elaboration of Renaissance forms.

The Théatre

Royale de la

Monnaie in

Brussels, was

built in Neo-

Classical style

in 1819 and

resembles a

Greek temple.

Maison St Cyr (see

p75), a private man-

sion in Brussels, is

an extravagant

example of Art

Nouveau architec-

ture. Designed by

the 25-year-old

architect Gustave

Strauven and com-

pleted in 1903, its

swirling ironwork

is characteristic of

this “new art” that

made no reference

to any architectural

style that had come

before it.

BELFRIES

A symbol of civic pride, the

town belfry was used in

medieval times to sound an

alarm bell as well as to mark

the passing of hours. Belfries

are built with spiral staircases

that lead up through strong

rooms where the city charters

were kept, and then to the

bell lofts and lookout posi-

tions. Belgium’s belfries are

UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

The 14th-century belfry of Tournai,

with a carillon of 43 bells

1500 1600 1700 1800 1900

1900

RENAISSANCE BAROQUE NEO-CLASSICAL ECLECTIC ART NOUVEAU

1500 1600 1700 1800