Belgium itinerary

The Town Hall (French: Hôtel de Ville, Dutch: Stadhuis ) of the City of Brussels is a landmark building and the seat of the City of Brussels municipality of Brussels, Belgium. It is located on the south side of the famous Grand-Place/Grote Markt (Brussels' main square), opposite the neo-Gothic King's House or Bread House building, housing the Brussels City Museum.Erected between 1401 and 1455, the Town Hall is the only remaining medieval building of the Grand-Place and is considered a masterpiece of civil Gothic architecture and more particularly of Brabantine Gothic. Its three classicist rear wings date from the 18th century. Since 1998, is also listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as part of the square.This site is served by the premetro (underground tram) station Bourse/Beurs (on lines 3 and 4), as well as the bus stop Grand-Place/Grote Markt (on line 95).

Manneken Pis (Dutch: [ˌmɑnəkə(m) ˈpɪs] (listen); Dutch for 'Little Pissing Man') is a landmark 55.5 cm (21.9 in) bronze fountain sculpture in central Brussels, Belgium, depicting a puer mingens; a naked little boy urinating into the fountain's basin. Though its existence is attested as early as the 15th century, it was designed in its current form by the Brabantine sculptor Jérôme Duquesnoy the Elder and put in place in 1618 or 1619.Manneken Pis has been repeatedly stolen or damaged throughout its history. The current statue is a replica dating from 1965, with the original being kept in the Brussels City Museum. Nowadays, it is one of the best-known symbols of Brussels and Belgium, inspiring many imitations and similar statues. The figure is regularly dressed up and its wardrobe consists of around one thousand different costumes. Due to its self-derisive nature, it is also an example of belgitude (French; lit. 'Belgianness'), as well as of folk humour (zwanze) popular in Brussels.Manneken Pis is an approximate five minutes' walk from the Grand-Place/Grote Markt (Brussels' main square), at the junction of the Rue du Chêne/Eikstraat and the pedestrian Rue de l'Étuve/Stoofstraat. This site is served by the premetro (underground tram) station Bourse/Beurs (on lines 3 and 4), as well as the bus stops Grand-Place/Grote Markt (on line 95) and Cesar de Paepe (on lines 33 and 48).

The Town Hall (French: Hôtel de Ville, Dutch: Stadhuis ) of the City of Brussels is a landmark building and the seat of the City of Brussels municipality of Brussels, Belgium. It is located on the south side of the famous Grand-Place/Grote Markt (Brussels' main square), opposite the neo-Gothic King's House or Bread House building, housing the Brussels City Museum.Erected between 1401 and 1455, the Town Hall is the only remaining medieval building of the Grand-Place and is considered a masterpiece of civil Gothic architecture and more particularly of Brabantine Gothic. Its three classicist rear wings date from the 18th century. Since 1998, is also listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as part of the square.This site is served by the premetro (underground tram) station Bourse/Beurs (on lines 3 and 4), as well as the bus stop Grand-Place/Grote Markt (on line 95).

The Brussels Stock Exchange (French: Bourse de Bruxelles, Dutch: Beurs van Brussel), abbreviated to BSE, was founded in Brussels, Belgium, by decree of Napoleon in 1801. In 2002, the BSE merged with the Amsterdam, Lisbon and Paris stock exchanges into Euronext N.V., renaming the BSE Euronext Brussels. The most well known stock market index on the BSE is the BEL20. The former Brussels Stock Exchange building (French: Palais de la Bourse, Dutch: Beurspaleis), usually shortened to Bourse or Beurs, is located on the Place de la Bourse/Beursplein along the Boulevard Anspach/Anspachlaan. This area is served by the premetro (underground tram) station Bourse/Beurse on lines 3 and 4.

La Grand-Place in Brussels is a remarkably homogeneous body of public and private buildings, dating mainly from the late 17th century. The architecture provides a vivid illustration of the level of social and cultural life of the period in this important political and commercial centre. © UNESCO World Heritage Centre.

Het Steen is a medieval fortress in the old city centre of Antwerp, Belgium, one of Europe's biggest ports. The surviving structure was built between 1200 and 1225 as a gateway to a larger castle of the Dukes of Brabant which was demolished in the 19th century. As the first stone fortress of Antwerp, Het Steen is Antwerp's oldest building and used to be its oldest urban centre. The words "Het Steen", are dutch for The Rock. The first documented mention of Antwerp Castle dates back to the 12th century. However, there was a castle here as early as the Carolingian period in the 9th century. The first castle may have been built after the Viking incursions in the early Middle Ages; in 879 the Normans invaded Flanders. The Margraviate of Antwerp came into being around 974. The Duchy of Lower Lotharingia was part of the Holy Roman Empire, while on the opposite bank of the Scheldt lay the county of Flanders, which was subordinate to the king of France. From 1076 to 1100 Godfrey of Bouillon was the Margrave of Antwerp. Godfrey I, Count of Louvain, received the duchy in 1106. His great-grandson was Henry I, Duke of Brabant who received the Duchy of Brabant in 1183. Previously known as Antwerpen Burcht (fortress), Het Steen gained its current name in around 1520, after significant rebuilding under Charles V. The rebuilding led to its being known first as "'s Heeren Steen" (the King's stone castle), and later simply as "Het Steen" (the stone castle). The Dutch word "steen" means "stone", and used to be used for "fortress" or "palace", as in the "Gravensteen" in Ghent, Belgium. The fortress made it possible to control the access to the Scheldt, the river on whose bank it stands. It was used as a prison between 1303 and 1827. The largest part of the fortress, including dozens of historic houses and the oldest church of the city, was demolished in the 19th century when the quays were straightened to stop the silting up of the Scheldt. The remaining building, heavily changed, contains a shipping museum, with some old canal barges displayed on the quay outside. In 1890 Het Steen became the museum of archeology and in 1952 an annex was added to house the museum of Antwerp maritime history, which in 2011 moved to the nearby Museum Aan de Stroom. Here is also a war memorial to the Canadian soldiers in World War II. At the entrance to Het Steen is a bas-relief of Semini, above the archway, around 2nd century. Semini is the Scandinavian God of youth and fertility (with symbolic phallus). A historical plaque near Het Steen explains that women of the town appealed to Semini when they desired children; the god was reviled by later religious clergy. Inhabitants of Antwerp previously referred to themselves as "children of Semini". An organization concerned with the historic preservation of Het Steen and Semini, Antwerp Komitee Semini in Ere (AKSIE), formed in 1986, holds annual celebrations at Het Steen as cultural events. At the entrance bridge to the castle is a statue of a giant and two humans. It depicts the giant Lange Wapper who used to terrorise the inhabitants of the city in medieval times. Richard Wagner's opera Lohengrin, which premiered in 1850, is set in Antwerp Castle around the year 933 under the reign of Henry the Fowler, with Elsa von Brabant as the main female protagonist and the swan knight Lohengrin, who magically appears on the river on a barge pulled by a swan when the king holds court hearing on the bank. Ludwig II of Bavaria had Neuschwanstein Castle designed by stage designers in 1869; its narrow rectangular inner courtyard is designed according to Wagner's stage directions for Antwerp Castle, with Elsa's wing on the left including the covered balcony on which she stands at the beginning of the second act.

The Port Authority Building (Dutch: Havenhuis), or the Port House, is a government building located in Antwerp, Belgium, built between 2009 and 2016. It is located near the area of Eilandje, in the Port of Antwerp, and acts as the new headquarters of the Antwerp Port Authority, housing various departments. Designed by Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid, the building opened in 2016, the year of her death. It is the sole government building designed by Hadid. The design of the building incorporates the use of a fire station, integrating it into the building. Attached above and connected to the fire station is a contemporary diamond-shaped structure marked by straight edges, with an additional column providing support from the floor.The building houses approximately 500 employees, and acts as a meeting place for international contacts of the Antwerp port community. According to the Antwerp Port Authority, the building is meant to "symbolise the dynamic, reliable, ambitious and innovative nature" of the Port of Antwerp.

Burg Square is a square and former fortress in Bruges. It is one of the main squares of the city.

The In Flanders Fields Museum is a museum in Ypres (Ieper), Belgium, dedicated to the study of the First World War. It occupies the second floor of the Cloth Hall (Lakenhalle) on the market square in the city centre. The building was largely destroyed by artillery during the war, but was afterwards reconstructed. In 1998 the original Ypres Salient Memorial Museum was refurbished and renamed In Flanders Fields Museum after the famous poem by Canadian John McCrae. Following a period of closure, the museum reopened on 11 June 2012. The curator, Piet Chielens, is a World War I historian. The museum does not set out to glorify war, but to suggest its futility, particularly as seen in the West Flanders front region in World War I.

The Yser Towers (Dutch: IJzertoren) are a monument complex near the Yser river at Diksmuide, West Flanders in Belgium. The first tower was built in 1928–30 to commemorate the Belgian soldiers killed on the surrounding Yser Front during World War I and as a monument to Christian pacifism. However, it subsequently became an important political symbol for the Flemish Movement and was destroyed in 1946 as a result of its association with Flemish nationalist collaboration in German-occupied Belgium in World War II. The current tower was rebuilt alongside the remains of the original and copied its design. It was finished in 1965. It remains a site of political significance to Flemish nationalists and is the center for their annual Yser Pilgrimage (IJzerbedevaart).