Take Metro Line 2 or Line 6 in the old town of Brussels. You will find that there are two stations along the way with the names of "doors" - Porte de Namur and Porte de Hal). Yes, these are the ruins of the old medieval city gates in Brussels.
is very similar to its sister city, Beijing. Brussels is also an ancient city. It once had two regular walls and moats inside and outside, enclosing palaces and churches. Moreover, the city walls in Brussels were demolished on a large scale and planned basis, and the ring expressway and a subway circle were built, but the demolition project here was much earlier than that in Beijing.
Today, the glorious medieval city walls still have several little-known ruins, like snow mud and rooster claws, hidden in the crazy growing urban jungle, and exist on their own. From the cracks in the back wall of the art museum to the underground garage of a luxury hotel, this issue of heritage comics will lead you to travel through the past and present in Brussels to see the secret urban heritage that even locals do not know...
1558 Brussels in watercolor paintings The style, painted red and yellow parts are the walls, A. Van den Wyngaerde, source: Almen Museum.
The name "Brussels" means "a settlement in a swamp" in ancient Dutch. The city originates from a small island upstream of the Senne River. The island was inhabited during the Roman period and was full of yellow oriole-tail flowers. Around 580 AD, Saint Gaugericus, Archbishop of Cambray, built a small chapel on the island, and the settlement grew, and the island was named Saint-Géry ).
After the Au Lion d'Or community, you can also see the Sine River landscape rebuilt according to archaeological excavations in the 1980s.
Brussels city emblem, in memory of Saint Gerry, symbolizes a yellow oriole tail flower.
In 979 AD, the Duke of Lower Lorraine (Charles of Lower Lorraine) built the earliest permanent fortifications on the island of St. Gerry, and there are no remains to be found.
The first wall that laid the foundation of today's old city of Brussels began in the early 13th century and was ordered by Henry I, the first duke of the Principal of Brabant. The walls are closely surrounded by the Seine River and the new city overflowing on the east bank, including the Duke Castle on Coudenberg, the Saint Michel Gudule and the River Harbor. 4 kilometers, there are 7 city gates. A moat was dug on the west side of the city wall, and due to the high terrain on the east side, there were only trenches and no water.
Schematic diagram of the first city wall in Brussels, A is Saint Gerry Island, B is the church of St. Mier and Gudule, which is the main church of Belgium , and C is the castle of Lengshan Duke.
Sand table model reflecting the appearance of the city in the early 13th century is now in the Brussels City Museum.
However, this wall did not play much role in Brussels' defense...
1355, Jean III, Duke of Brabant, died. Since both his sons were dead, the Duke could only be entitled to the title of Duke. Passed to daughter Joanna and her husband, Wenceslaus I, Duke of Luxembourg. 1. Flanders . Earl Louis II attempted to usurp the throne, attacked the Principality of Brabant and quickly occupied Brussels, and planted the lion flag of Flanders in the city. On the center of the big square.
Unexpectedly, Everard t'Serclaes, the lord of Kruikenburg, led a group of patriots to attack the Flanders on the night of October 24, 1356, Brussels Release the occupation. Joyeuse Entrée, which has a historical status equivalent to the Low Countries version of "Haoire Entrée" Act (Joyeuse Entrée), restricting the power of the monarchy and promoting social progress.
Selclaus was elected as municipal chief five times later. He is known as the liberator and patron saint of the city of Brussels. More importantly, after launching a surprise attack, he deeply realized the weakness of the Brussels wall and guided the construction of the second wall.
is located in the corner of the Grand Plaza Monument and was built in 1902. Legend has it that as long as tourists touch the statue's arm, a relief puppy and a little angel, they will return to Brussels in their lifetime.
The upper part of the monument uses relief to represent the scene of the surprise attack on the night of October 24, 1356. Patriots led by Selclaus were climbing over the walls of Brussels.
From 1356 to 1383, a new city wall with a total length of nearly 8 kilometers completely wrapped the previous city and provided defense for the increasingly prosperous city area, especially the increasingly densely populated Seine Valley outside the South Gate. The outer city is pentagonal in its entirety, with a moat dug out on the west side, with a total of 74 viewing buildings and 9 city gates, of which 2 are water gates on the Seine River and 1 amphibious city gate. The city gates are all named after the big city they face. The outline of the old city of Brussels has been taken so far and has not changed yet, so it is also called "Five-Gate".
Schematic diagram of the second city wall, the yellow part is Brussels Grand Plaza , which gradually flourished since the 14th century.
A street in the old city of Brussels, the speed limit sign on the road refers to Wujiao City. The overall speed limit is 30 kilometers per hour. It can be seen that the boundary formed by the second city wall is still deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
In the 17th century, with the gradual prevalence of European artillery, the famous French military theorist Sebastien Le Prestre de Vauban established a complete set of new city building systems, referred to as "Vauban City Defense". This system consists of bastions, fossés, and triangular islands in the moats, half-lune, nested basic defense lines, and then overlap layer by layer to lengthen the enemy and us. The distance between them, while creating a multi-faceted strike platform that can penetrate deep into the enemy's fronts, ultimately forming a star-shaped "thorn-headed" city.
Idealized model of the Vauban urban defense system. In the figure, p and o are the diamond forts, h are the moats, i are the half-moon forts, and there is also an independent fortress in the upper left. Source: Les Fortifications de Vauban, URL: http://theudericus .free.fr/Vauban/Vauban.htm.
In order to resist the expansion attempt of the Sun King Louis XIV, the Spanish king ordered Count Monterey to update the city defense systems of the Low Countries on a large scale according to the Vauban model. From 1671 to 1675, the Brussels Fortress and the Half Moon Barrier were systematically added to the walls of Brussels, and a brand new Monteller Barrier was also built on the high ground outside the South Gate.
However, this transformation project was once again in vain... In 1688, the Grand Alliance War broke out in full swing. In order to clear the important city of Namur, captured by King William III, Louis XIV staged a "surround Wei and save Zhao", and bombarded Brussels for three consecutive days on August 13, 14 and 15, 1695. The French set up artillery on a high ground southwest of the city, allowing the shells to fly through the layers of city walls and directly hit the city center. The main square was destroyed, and one-third of the buildings in the city were reduced to ruins. The Brussels bombing brought Louis XIV the title of "barbarian". Some shells remain until now and are trapped in the walls deep in the old city.
Brussels bombing situation chart, the lower right corner is the French army on the high ground, the blank area in the center of the city is a gun-destroying area, source: Wikipedia.
French artillery remaining in the interior of a church near the Grand Plaza.
In the mid-18th century Austrian throne succession war, the French once again captured Brussels and destroyed the city walls. People no longer believe that the walls have meaning. In 1782, the Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II ordered the demolition of the city walls. After that, the city walls continued to change in the top of Brussels, but the city walls could not escape the fate of eventually disappearing. In 1804, Napoleon (Napoleon) once again demanded the demolition of the city walls and ordered the construction of the Ring Avenue on the original site in May 1810.
By the time Belgium was founded in 1830, the second wall in Brussels had been demolished, leaving only the tower of Porte de Hal in the south, and the first wall was freely disintegrated at an earlier time. Many parts survived by being surrounded by private houses.
1664-1665 urban landscape, the second wall transformed by Vaubon system is clearly visible, Jean-Baptiste Bonnecroy, source: Almen Museum.
Today's Brussels has changed from a place where great powers must fight to the headquarters of the European Union for peace. With the large-scale modern urban construction, the first city wall ruins in Brussels have been discovered one after another. Finding their traces in the jungle of reinforced concrete is like a great adventure in urban archaeology.
First of all, behind the main church of St. Mier and Gudule in the city center, a small section of the city wall remains. This section of the city wall contains a complete viewing building, which is now sandwiched between tall office buildings, and it is almost impossible for ordinary tourists to discover its existence. Even if you see it, it is hard to imagine that this is a cultural relics and monuments that are nearly 700 years old...
Although this section of the city wall (red location) is located in a prime location, it is one of the most unreachable cultural relics and monuments in Brussels. A is the main church, base map source: Apple map.
The brand new office building is almost built close to the cultural relics city wall. The semicircular part under the arrow is the lookout building.
is on the west side of the same cathedral, in the lobby and garage of a luxury hotel on Rue du Fossé aux Loups, there is also a small section of the city wall foundation. According to legend, this site was where Selclas launched a surprise attack and climbed over the wall into the city. Although it has been made into a "painted ruin" by the hotel, the deep excavation of the lobby space unexpectedly shows the typical infrastructure of the medieval European city wall - the city wall is a stone wall that is 10 meters high and 1-2.5 meters thick. The lower part is supported by continuous stone arches and has a span of about 4 meters. These arches are not door openings. They were once buried under huge slopes (talus), which not only supported the walls, but also saved labor and materials. In the age of cold weapons, huge rocks dropped by city wall defenders could crush down the slopes and kill and injure the enemy.
The arch ring under the slope was transformed into a balcony of a Japanese restaurant...
This is the underground garage. The square doorway on the right is a newly opened incision for the construction of the garage. The exit on the left is low enough. Luckily retained the original arch.
The city walls are also surrounded by the hotel, as well as the "Tour Noire" behind the Saint Catherine. This section of the site also completely preserves a medieval viewing building above the ground. However, the wooden roof now seen is the result of the stylistic restoration of 19th-century architect Victor Jamaer.
may be because it has been converted into a private residence since the 14th century, and the viewing building has been preserved. During the excavation of the river harbor in the 16th century, it survived as a pub for sailors. Finally, the road widening project in 1888 was protected from demolition due to the strong support of legendary mayor Charles Buls.
This... If it were in Datong City, Shanxi Province, the hotel would definitely be demolished and the city wall would be rebuilt for tourism. In Brussels, it could only become a corner where passers-by dormancy.
Not far from the south side of the Black Tower, there is a cecum-like alley. Who would have thought that this is also a trace left after the demolition of the city wall.
Near the Boulevard de l'Empereur on the other side of the city, you can see the two most ornamental medieval walls in Brussels - the Tour de Villers and Tour Annessens ). These two sections of remains are very close to each other and once formed an important turning point on the south side of the first city wall. In 1957, it was damaged and disconnected due to the construction of the North-South Railway Connection Line.
A is the citizen tower , B is the Annesonsta Tower, and the Imperial Avenue in the middle is the base map source: Apple Map.
The wall connected to one side of the Citizen Tower is the longest medieval wall above the ground in Brussels. It is also a rare remains that can be viewed from both sides of the inside and outside. The houses surrounding it were cleared in the 1960s. Architect Jean Longbao (Jean Rombaux) Repair and partially rebuilt the platform and samurai on the top of the lookout building.
The closed window on the wall is evidence that it was once used as the back wall of a private house. The slope in the lower part is now a classroom in a primary school, and its appearance imitates the original appearance of the medieval city wall.
Inside the city wall.
Annesonsta marks the turning point of the city wall, so it is also called the corner tower. In 1719, François Annessens, the respected leader of the Brussels chamber of commerce, was arrested for gathering a crowd to revolt against violent taxation. Before being escorted to the Grand Plaza, the righteous man Annes was imprisoned in this viewing building, hence the name. The building was restored in 1967, and the adjacent ground was also paved with special paving, suggesting the direction of the city wall.
The inside of the tower used to detain prisoners is now closed and not open.
In addition, in the high and spacious "Uptown" of Brussels, the medieval ruins of the Lengshan Duke's Mansion - today's Great Palace, there are also two ruins of the city walls hidden. One is in the famous Brussels Palace of Art (BOZAR), and the other is in the backyard of the Great Palace.
Palace of Art is a late work by architect Victor Horta. This art hall of art deco style also borrows a medieval wall about 20 meters long to expand the basement in the 2002 Film and Television Archives. It was discovered only when it was. The designer immediately modified the plan and incorporated it into the overall visual design of the interior.
The upper part is the garden in front of the Great Palace, and the roof on the lower part is BOZAR. The city wall (red position) survives in the cracks. The base map source: Apple Map.
The iron hoop on the city wall tied it to the modern buildings that borrowed it.
One of the remains of another section of the city wall in the upper city of Brussels is almost unknown. Its location is also a turning point in the city wall and is important evidence that the city wall once directly surrounded the Duke's Mansion building complex. The site is now sandwiched between the back door of the palace and the office building, only a mysterious corner is revealed... The specific shape of the site (red location) is unknown. A is the courtyard of the palace, B is the Wangjia Square, the base image source: Apple Map.
Other side of the city wall is the city palace where the Belgian king works. The ruins on this back street have neither description nor cultural relics protection signs.
The first city wall that exists tenaciously in the cracks is lucky. Many relics can be seen so far. The second city wall only has one city gate and a small section of decorations rebuilt in the subway station. In addition, it has been completely No ground remains can be seen.
Metro Line 2/6 Hôtel des Monnaies Station, a small section of the second city wall discovered during the construction of the platform in 1985, was symbolically rebuilt onto the wall on one side of the platform.
Almen was once the south gate on the second city wall. In the mid-19th century, the system was removed from the demolition of criminals and the preservation of city archives, but the function of passing was lost due to the widening and lifting of the road surface.
1820, the second wall ruins and Almen under demolition, F. Bossuet, Source: Almen Museum.
1868 to 1871, the famous Belgian architect Hendrik Beyaert made Almen a medieval style imagined by people at that time without any historical basis, and added a one to the top Huge new tego style wooden roof. Almen was transformed into one of the earliest museums in Brussels and is still open to the public today. In order to allow more people to enter the tower, Beyat also designed a spectacular neo-Gothic spiral staircase, decorated with bronze statues of more than 30 famous Belgian historical figures, trying to establish the national identity of the new country.
1892 Almen section, the dotted line is the part added to the style restoration, yellow is the spiral staircase, red is the wooden roof loft, Hendrik Beyaert, source: Almen Museum.
Almen.
Spiral staircase covered with bronze statues of national heroes. The loft on the top of
is known as the most beautiful wooden roof in Brussels.
The city walls of Brussels have gone through more than 700 years of ups and downs. Their construction and demolition have nothing to do with the Belgian country today. So whose legacy is it? How do people view this legacy? From the shaping of the national identity of the Almen Museum to the Japanese restaurant in the hotel lobby... The fate of the Brussels city wall in the process of "heritageization" is always full of difficulties and confusion. And this is also a great example of Belgian social form!
This is a young country, formed by three nations that speak Dutch , French and German. Her birth itself is the result of the game between neighboring powers. Compared with single ethnic neighbors such as France, Germany, and the Netherlands, the Belgian people have a very weak sense of national identity, which of course has caused many problems, but at the same time it has made their way of thinking more peaceful and open, and more capable of transcending the nation. the ability to look at problems from a perspective.
Today's Brussels not only have medieval city walls in the cracks, but also the most international city in the world - here, more than one-third of the permanent population is foreigners, and cultural exchanges and collisions are always there It's happening. Who defines the legacy? This is a false proposition in Brussels itself - why is Billy fashionable and I don’t know that the so-called legacy can only be the common legacy of mankind. Eliminating the narrow halo of nationalism, looking back and forth at these city walls in the cracks, it is more like roses in the wilderness. It is really simple and stubborn and charming.
Finally, the comparison between the Brussels city wall and the Beijing city wall. The inner and outer walls of Brussels were built between the 13th and 14th centuries, which are similar to the existence of the Yuan Metropolitan Wall. By the Ming and Qing dynasties of China, Beijing had turned upside down, while the city scope of Brussels had almost no changes, and its overall area was slightly smaller than that of Beijing Imperial City. If we look at it in modern times, it would not be as large as before the He District Chongwen District .
(The original text is shown in the author's WeChat official account "Heritage Comics". After the author revised it, he authorized the full text of "The Paper (www.thepaper.cn)" to be published.)
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