Maritime Station

The Maritime Goods Station (1902-1907) was the largest European goods station of its time. The three parallel halls, 280 meters deep, rest on slender wrought-iron pillars with Art Nouveau elements. Under the high arched roofs, steam trains puffed with wagons full of goods and parcels. These were unloaded and sorted on the platforms, and then found their way to customers in Brussels or further afield via horse-drawn carts. The activity at Thurn and Taxis continued until after WWII. Then, the European internal borders disappeared, and trucks took over the freight transport. Thurn and Taxis lost its reason for existence. After decades of vacancy and decay, the NMBS and the city of Brussels sold almost the entire site in 2001 to two real estate investors. Today, the development company Nextensa manages the majority of Thurn and Taxis. Nextensa engaged the Dutch architectural firm Neutelings-Riedijk (known for the MAS in Antwerp and the Herman Teirlinck building, see further) to transform the heavily dilapidated Goods Station into a sustainable, covered city with 80,000 m2 of shops, hospitality, offices, and event space. Unfortunately, the end of the impressive renovation (2016-2020) coincided with the first corona lockdown. The wooden volumes are now gradually being filled.

→ To get to the Food Market, turn right and walk between Siemens and Universal to the outside. You will come to a cobbled strip between the Maritime Goods Station and a building with a sawtooth roof: The Sheds.

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