BRUSSELS. - In Flemish Brussel, capital of Belgium, ecclesiastically it depends on the archdiocese of Malines (v.), which has founded in Brussels and has directly under its jurisdiction the Institut St-Louis, comprising a faculty of Philosophy and Letters, a school of philosophical and religious sciences, the Higher Institute of Commerce recognized by the State, with two sections, one French, the other Flemish. The College of St. Michael in Brussels for secondary education is run by the Jesuit Fathers; there too is the current residence of the Bollandist Fathers (v.) and of their very rich library.
The State has in Brussels a free University founded by the Belgian liberals in 1834 in the ancient palace of Cardinal Granvelle, with faculties of philosophy, sciences, law, medicine and applied sciences; in the Leopold Park the Physiological Institute (1895); furthermore the Institute of Hygiene, Bacteriology and Therapeutics, an Anatomical Institute (1896-97), a Commercial Institute (1904), an International Center for Contemporary World Literature (1907) with a very extensive library. Among the academies are remembered: the Royal Academy of Brussels, for Sciences, letters and arts (1772); the Royal Academy of Medicine (1841); the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, the Royal Society of Archaeology of Brussels (1887); the Royal Geographical Society, the International Institute of Bibliography (1895) with its special Bulletin; the Royal Musical Conservatory with a rich library and many manuscripts; the Higher Institute of Commerce for Women. Brussels is the seat of the International Academic Union (1918); of the International Council of Research (1918-19); of the International Union of Cities (1913); of the Belgian Society of Oriental Studies (1921); of the Queen Elisabeth Egyptological Foundation (1923). It also has higher schools: of political and social sciences, of Commerce, of Pedagogy, of Criminological Sciences; 5 institutes: of Philology and Oriental and Slavic histories, of Urbanism, of Aeronautical Constitutions, of telecommunications and acoustics, of Solvay sociology.
Enrico Josi
ART
The oldest and most important monument is the collegiate church of Sts. Michael and Gudula: begun in 1220 and completed only in the 16th century, it shows the evolution of the Gothic style: in the apse in forms of transition between the Romanesque and the Gothic (1226-50), in the choir in early Gothic (1226-50-80), in the grandiose central nave and right side aisle in flamboyant Gothic (14th century). In the 15th century Jean van der Eycken designed the left nave and collaborated with Jean de Ruysbroeck on the quadrangular towers that flank the main portal. Notable in it are the chapel of the Holy Sacrament by Pietro van Wyenhove (1534-39), the mausoleums of John II, Duke of Brabant, and of the counts of Mérode, the stained-glass windows (especially those of the transept, donated by Charles V, after a design by Bernard van Orley [1537-38], and of the apse, after a design by Jean de Vriendt [16th century]), the pulpit of Truth by Henry Verbruggen (1669), the alabaster altarpiece by Jean Mone (1536), the statues of apostles by Luc Fayd'herbe and Jérôme Duquesnoy the Younger (1640).
Of all Flanders and Brabant the most majestic town hall is this one of Brussels, an example of picturesque and rich Gothic: Jacques van Thienen raised the left wing in 1402; in 1444 Charles the Bold laid the first stone for the right wing; this was begun in 1451, while the pyramidal tower was already being built, admirable for the lightness and elegance of its tracery, the work of Jean de Ruysbroeck (1449-54). The rear side of the building (Louis XIV style) is the work of Corneille van Nerven (1706-17): the interior is rich in Brussels tapestries of the 16th-18th centuries and in historical paintings by Jacques de Lalaing. The square of the town hall is interesting for the ring of buildings that were the seat of the ancient Guilds, built in the rich Brabantine Baroque style, enriched with classicizing elements: among them the House of the King, partly rebuilt in the 19th century, is particularly important for the interesting museum that includes, among other things, porcelain and majolica of the 17th-19th centuries and a very rare gilded-wood altarpiece of 1520. Worthy of mention are the church of Notre-Dame-des-Victoires-au-Sablon in late Gothic style (choir of 1420-35, transept and main nave of 1450, portal of the first half of the 16th century, sculptures of the 15th century and Baroque chapels of the 17th century), the very ancient Notre-Dame-de-La-Chapelle (begun in 1134, Romanesque transept of 1150, nave of 1210-40), with figures of apostles carved (1646-55) by J. Duquesnoy and Luc Fayd'herbe, surmounted by the elegant bell tower of Pastorana (1695-1708) itself raised on a Gothic tower (1504-1508); the church of the Trinity is of the late Renaissance, with the facade of 1621 by Francart; outside the city the church of St. Peter of Anderlecht repeats forms of Flamboyant Gothic (15th-16th centuries), and contains, among the most notable things, a Romanesque crypt (1078), a triptych Adoration of the Magi by G. Bosch, and a sepulchral statue of Jean de Walcourt (14th century).
There are numerous modern buildings: the Royal Palace, outwardly very simple, was modified in 1904 by the architect Maquet. The interior is sumptuous, especially the grand staircase, a masterpiece of the architect Balat, who also designed the Palace of Fine Arts. That of the Nations, which dates back to the time of Maria Theresa, was rebuilt on a plan by Beyaert in 1883, following a fire: the bas-relief of the pediment that surmounts the eight fluted Ionic columns is the work of Cojdecharles.
Massive structures are the Palace of Justice, the work of Poelaert (1866-83), the Théâtre de la Monnaie and the much-debated Stock Exchange, built on a design by Suys.
Justly celebrated are the museums: that of Fine Arts is one of the foremost in Europe for the works of the Primitives and the Flemish; the Modern one includes works by Belgian painters from David to the present; that of the Cinquantenaire has valuable Egyptian, Greek and Roman antiquities, medieval goldsmiths' work, tapestries, porcelain; that of Arms is located in the old fortified gate of Hal. The sculpture gallery houses mainly works of the centuries between the 17th and the 20th.
In the Royal Library, whose core dates back to that of the dukes of Burgundy, are found the Evangelary of St. Lawrence of Liège (10th century), the Pontifical of Sens (15th century) and "Les très riches heures" of the duke of Berry.