BRUSSELS 75The European Parliament building behind the trees of Parc LéopoldAwe-inspiring paintings in the huge
studio space of the Musée WiertzMusée Wiertz b
Rue Vautier 62, 1050 BRU. City
Map 3 A4. Tel (02) 6481718.
@ 12, 21, 22, 27, 34, 36, 38, 44, 54,
59, 60, 71, 79, 80, 95. q Maelbeek,
Schuman, Trone. # 10am–noon and
1–5pm Tue–Fri. ¢ Jul–Aug: Sat and
Sun. http://www.fine-arts-museum.beThe 160 works, including oil
paintings, drawings and sculp-
tures that form the main body
of Antoine Wiertz’s (1806–65)
artistic output are housed in
Musée Wiertz. The collection
fills a studio built for the
immensely popular Wiertz by
the Belgian state, where heroad from the Berlaymont.
This building is known as
Justus Lipsius, after a 16th-
century Flemish philosopher.
Further down the road from
the Justus Lipsius building
is Résidence Palace, a luxury
1920s housing complex that
boasted a theatre, pool and
roof garden. The International
Press Centre is currently
based in the palace.
This whole area is naturally
full of life and bustle during
the day, but much quieter
in the evenings; it can feel
almost deserted on weekends.
Pleasant at any time is the
proximity of a number of
the city’s wonderful green
spaces, which include the
Parc du Cinquantenaire and
Parc Léopold. The verdant
Square Ambiorix, to the
north, contains the Maison
St-Cyr at No. 11 – the most
extravagant of all Art
Nouveau houses in Brussels,
built in 1903 by architect
Gustave Strauven.
European
Parliament v
Rue Wiertz 43, 1047 BRU. City
Map 3 A4. Tel (02) 2842111.
@ 21, 22, 27, 34, 38, 54, 60, 80,
95, 96. q Maelbeek, Schuman.
8 10am and 3pm Mon–Thu, 10am
Fri. 9 http://www.europarl.europa.eu
This vast, modern steel and
glass complex, situated just
behind the Quartier Léopold
train station, is one of the
three homes of the European
Parliament, the elected body
of the European Union. Its
permanent seat is located in
Strasbourg, France, where the
plenary sessions are held
once a month. Luxembourg
is the administrative centre,
and the committee meetings
are held in Brussels.
A gleaming state-of-the-art
building completed in 1997, it
has many admirers, not least
the parliamentary work ers
and Members of the European
Parliament (MEPs). However,
it also has critics – the huge
domed struc ture containing a
hemicycle that seats 700-plus
MEPs has been dubbed le
caprice des dieux – the whim
of the gods – referring both
to the shape of the build ing,
which is similar to a cheese
of the same name, and to its
lofty aspirations. Many also
regret that to make room for
the new complex, a large part
of the Quartier Léopold that
stood here has been lost.lived and worked from 1850
until his death, when the
studio became a museum.
The enormous main room
contains Wiertz’s largest paint-
ings. Many of them depict
biblical and Homeric scenes,
some of which are in the style
of Rubens, while others bear
wit ness to his macabre imag-
ina tion. Also on display are
his sculptures and death mask.
The last of the six rooms
contains his more gruesome
efforts, with titles as fearsome
as their content. These include
Madness, Hunger and Crime
and Premature Burial.Institut Royal
des Sciences
Naturelles nRue Vautier 29, 1000 BRU. City Map
3 A4. Tel (02) 6274238. @ 12, 21,
22, 27, 34, 36, 38, 54, 59, 60, 64, 71,
79, 80, 95. q Maalbeek, Schuman,
Trône. # 9:30am–5pm Tue–Fri,
10am–6pm Sat and Sun. & 8 7Established in 1846, the
Institut Royal des Sciences
Naturelles is best known for
its collection of iguanadon
skeletons which date from 250
million years ago. Dis covered
in 1870, at Bernissart near
Mons (see p189), they were
among the first complete dino-
saur skel etons to be reassem-
bled – a major contribution to
paleontology. The museum
contains educa tional displays
on natural history, and a gal-
lery on evolution was added
in 2009 to mark the 200th birth
anniversary of Charles Darwin.