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Fortifications of Brussels
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Fortifications of Brussels
The Fortifications of Brussels (French: Fortifications de Bruxelles; Dutch: Vestingwerken van Brussel) refers to the medieval city walls that surrounded Brussels, Belgium, built primarily to defend the city but also for administrative reasons. There were two stages of fortifications of Brussels: the first walls, built in the early 13th century, and the second walls, built in the late 14th century and later upgraded. In the 19th century, the second walls were torn down and replaced with the Small Ring, a series of boulevards bounding the historical city centre. Nowadays, only a few sections of each walls remain, most notably the Halle Gate.
The first walls of Brussels (French: première enceinte, Dutch: eerste stadsomwalling) were a series of fortifications erected around Brussels in the early 13th century. The city quickly outgrew them, and starting in 1356, a second, larger set of walls was built to better enclose and defend the city. The now superfluous walls were dismantled between the 16th and 18th centuries. Isolated portions of the first walls can still be seen today.
Construction of the first walls of Brussels is estimated to have taken place at the beginning of the 13th century, during the reign of Henry I, the first duke of Brabant. The beginning and end dates are not clear, but construction would have lasted several decades. On the other hand, from historical maps and other documents which have been preserved, the precise former course of the walls is known.
The walls were 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) long. In the west, they encompassed Saint-Géry/Sint-Goriks Island (the site of the city's founding and first development, where today's Halles Saint-Géry/Sint-Gorikshallen are located), the Grand-Place/Grote Markt (the city's main square), and the first port on the river Senne. They extended to the heights in the east of the city, enclosing the first Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula (then a collegiate church) on the Treurenberg hill (French: Mont des pleurs; "Mount of tears"), where the St. Gudula Gate stood (integrated in these first walls), and which was later used as a notorious prison, hence its name, as well as the ducal palace of Coudenberg.
The walls were initially made of earth, with a wooden fence on top. These gave way to walls made of stone that were 10 metres (33 ft) tall and 1 to 2.5 metres (3 to 8 ft) thick. The walls were supported by square pillars, spaced roughly 4 metres (13 ft) apart, linked by a row of arches for support. These were buried underneath a talus, and they supported the main wall, which had a number of arrow slits in it. A second arcade supported a crenellated parapet, where defenders could stand. A large ditch was dug in front of the walls, and in places this could be flooded with water to form a moat if needed. Along the length of the walls, there were roughly forty defensive towers, in addition to seven primary gates and five smaller entrances.
The death of Duke John III of Brabant in 1355 sparked a succession crisis. As both of his sons had died, he left the throne to his daughter Joanna and her husband Wenceslaus I of Luxembourg. Count Louis II of Flanders had married Joan's younger sister Margaret and thought the throne should be his. Louis invaded Brabant and quickly seized Brussels, planting the Flemish lion flag in the middle of the Grand-Place. The city walls offered relatively little protection.
During the night of 24 October 1356, a group of Brabantian patriots led by Everard t'Serclaes scaled the city walls and drove the Flemings from the city. This enabled Joanna and Wenceslaus to make their Joyous Entry into Brussels, granting a charter of liberties that would be seen as the equivalent of the Magna Carta for the Low Countries.
Since the construction of the first walls in the 13th century, Brussels had grown extensively and had become quite important. On account of this growth, the first walls were no longer large enough, as the city had begun to spread out beyond them. It had become clear that further defences, better adapted to the current era, needed to be constructed. Following the succession crisis, city authorities decided to build a new set of walls. Everard 't Serclaes, who had been named schepen (alderman), was among those contributing to the decision.
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Fortifications of Brussels
The Fortifications of Brussels (French: Fortifications de Bruxelles; Dutch: Vestingwerken van Brussel) refers to the medieval city walls that surrounded Brussels, Belgium, built primarily to defend the city but also for administrative reasons. There were two stages of fortifications of Brussels: the first walls, built in the early 13th century, and the second walls, built in the late 14th century and later upgraded. In the 19th century, the second walls were torn down and replaced with the Small Ring, a series of boulevards bounding the historical city centre. Nowadays, only a few sections of each walls remain, most notably the Halle Gate.
The first walls of Brussels (French: première enceinte, Dutch: eerste stadsomwalling) were a series of fortifications erected around Brussels in the early 13th century. The city quickly outgrew them, and starting in 1356, a second, larger set of walls was built to better enclose and defend the city. The now superfluous walls were dismantled between the 16th and 18th centuries. Isolated portions of the first walls can still be seen today.
Construction of the first walls of Brussels is estimated to have taken place at the beginning of the 13th century, during the reign of Henry I, the first duke of Brabant. The beginning and end dates are not clear, but construction would have lasted several decades. On the other hand, from historical maps and other documents which have been preserved, the precise former course of the walls is known.
The walls were 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) long. In the west, they encompassed Saint-Géry/Sint-Goriks Island (the site of the city's founding and first development, where today's Halles Saint-Géry/Sint-Gorikshallen are located), the Grand-Place/Grote Markt (the city's main square), and the first port on the river Senne. They extended to the heights in the east of the city, enclosing the first Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula (then a collegiate church) on the Treurenberg hill (French: Mont des pleurs; "Mount of tears"), where the St. Gudula Gate stood (integrated in these first walls), and which was later used as a notorious prison, hence its name, as well as the ducal palace of Coudenberg.
The walls were initially made of earth, with a wooden fence on top. These gave way to walls made of stone that were 10 metres (33 ft) tall and 1 to 2.5 metres (3 to 8 ft) thick. The walls were supported by square pillars, spaced roughly 4 metres (13 ft) apart, linked by a row of arches for support. These were buried underneath a talus, and they supported the main wall, which had a number of arrow slits in it. A second arcade supported a crenellated parapet, where defenders could stand. A large ditch was dug in front of the walls, and in places this could be flooded with water to form a moat if needed. Along the length of the walls, there were roughly forty defensive towers, in addition to seven primary gates and five smaller entrances.
The death of Duke John III of Brabant in 1355 sparked a succession crisis. As both of his sons had died, he left the throne to his daughter Joanna and her husband Wenceslaus I of Luxembourg. Count Louis II of Flanders had married Joan's younger sister Margaret and thought the throne should be his. Louis invaded Brabant and quickly seized Brussels, planting the Flemish lion flag in the middle of the Grand-Place. The city walls offered relatively little protection.
During the night of 24 October 1356, a group of Brabantian patriots led by Everard t'Serclaes scaled the city walls and drove the Flemings from the city. This enabled Joanna and Wenceslaus to make their Joyous Entry into Brussels, granting a charter of liberties that would be seen as the equivalent of the Magna Carta for the Low Countries.
Since the construction of the first walls in the 13th century, Brussels had grown extensively and had become quite important. On account of this growth, the first walls were no longer large enough, as the city had begun to spread out beyond them. It had become clear that further defences, better adapted to the current era, needed to be constructed. Following the succession crisis, city authorities decided to build a new set of walls. Everard 't Serclaes, who had been named schepen (alderman), was among those contributing to the decision.
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