The Town Hall of the city of Brussels is a Gothic building from the Middle Ages. It is located on the famous Grand Place, opposite the Museum of the City of Brussels. It is the only remaining medieval building of the Grand Place and is considered a masterpiece of civil Gothic architecture and more particularly of Barbantine Gothic.
The oldest part of the present Town Hall is its east wing. This wing, together with a shorter belfry, was built and completed in 1420 under direction of Jacob van Thienen. Initially, future expansion of the building was not foreseen, however, the admission of the craft guilds into the traditionally patrician city government apparently spurred interest in providing more room for the building. As a result, a second, somewhat longer wing was built on to the existing structure, with Charles the Bold laying its first stone in 1444. The facade is decorated with numerous statues representing nobles, saints, and allegorical figures. The present sculptures are reproductions, the older ones are in the city museum in the King`s House across the Grand Place. Today, the Town Halla is a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of the registration of the Grand Place.
