Coudenberg

The Coudenberg or Koudenberg is a small hill in Brussels where the Palace of Coudenberg was built. For nearly 700 years, the Castle and then Palace of Coudenberg was the seat of government of the counts, dukes, archdukes, kings, emperors and governors, who from the 11th century until its destruction in 1731, exerted their sovereignty over the area of the Duchy of Brabant, now in the southern Netherlands and northern Belgium. After several years of recent excavations, the archaeological vestiges of the palace and its foundations are open to the public.

Around 1100, the counts of Leuven and Brussels left the bottom of the valley of the Senne and built their castle on the heights of the Coudenberg from where they could dominate Brussels. With the creation of the Duchy of Brabant in 1183 by the German Emperor Frederik Barbarossa, the Coudenberg gained in importance and was included within the first great wall built around the city. The hunting park of the dukes led down the hill to the north, a remnant of which is now Brussels Park.

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