The Maison du Roi is one of the many eye-catching structures surrounding Brussels’ Grand Place. How can you go wrong with arches, verdigris statues and mini-spires?
It certainly did not start out so grand. In the 13th century, the Maison de Roi was known as Broodhuis, (Bread Hall), and was indeed a wood building that housed the city’s bread market. In 1405, the wooden structure was replaced with a stone building, but it wasn’t long before bakers began selling their bread door-to-door. Broodhuis was demolished in 1512 and replaced by a large building, La Maison du Roi (the King’s house) into which the Duke of Brabant moved his administrative offices. The structure housed administrative offices through the reign of Charles V in the 16th century.
After the French bombardment of 1695, the building was restored only enough to keep it from collapsing. In 1860, the city of Brussels purchased the dilapidated old house and then proceeded to rebuild the entire structure in the fashionable neo-gothic style you see today.
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