Market Square

Books have been written about this square; it is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is impossible to tell everything about it in one paragraph. We will highlight two things. Is it a square (Grande Place) or a market? The Grand Place was the center of the market district in the Middle Ages; note the street names around: Cheese Market, Butter Market, Coal Market, Grass Market. Legend has it that Napoleon said, “Ceci n'est pas un marché, c'est une place.” And so the market became a square, even though a market was still held. Today, the market function has disappeared, and the Dutch name is the only thing that still remembers this.

Also take a good look at the town hall and notice that the tower is not in the center. Moreover, the gate at the bottom is also not in the center of the tower. This is because the left part of the town hall was built first, along with the tower. It was intended to be at the corner. But then it turned out that the town hall was too small, and a right part was planned. Only there was not enough space to make the right wing as large as the left side. There is a legend about the architect who threw himself off the tower when he realized that his tower was not in the center. You can forget that one.

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