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GENERAL
Brussels (Home)
SIGHTSEEING
Monuments
-
Market
Place
-
King's
House
-
Guild
Houses
-
Royal Park
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Government
-
Sablon
square
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Palace of Justice
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Royal Palace
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Cinquantenaire
-
Royal
Residence
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Heysel-Atomium
-
St. Hubert
gallery
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Royal Square
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Manneken Pis
Churches
- Cathedral
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Basilica
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Sablon Church
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St. Nicholas
- Church
of Laken
Museums
Tourist Attractions
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THE
GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS
 Opposite of the
royal
palace is the 'Palace of the Nation', or the Belgian Parliament.
During the reconstruction of the royal quarter in 1777, the town authorities
decided to construct a new building for the Council of Brabant. This
medieval institution was the supreme court of justice for the dukedom of
Brabant, as well as the official institution that gave executive power to
the laws of the duke.
After the Belgian independence in 1830 it was, of course, the ideal place to
house the Parliament of the new state. The architect was Barnabé
GUIMARD, who constructed this monumental building in harmony with the
other classical constructions around the
royal park.
In the 'Hertogstraat/Rue Ducale', on the left side of the
royal
palace stands the Palace of Academics. The classical building
with its sober decoration was built in 1820 to become the residence of
William-Frederic of Orange, crown prince of the United Kingdom of the
Netherlands (i.e.: the period between 1815 and 1830 when Belgium and Holland
were reunited for a short time). After the Belgian independence the building
was offered to crown-prince Leopold II, the future King. Since he never
stayed there, the building became the seat of the Royal Academy of
Sciences, Literature and Beautiful Arts in 1876.
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