Radisson Brussels Surroundings |
 The Radisson SAS in Brussels is a luxury hotel located in the heart of the city.
The hotel is unique in every way, a true luxury hotel in the heart of Brussels, a few meters from the famous daily flower-market that takes place in the attractive decor of medieval gild-halls : the Grand Place. Three very attractive façades in Italian baroque style with a typical Flemish touch may not be missed. The row between the “ rue de la Tête d'Or” (Guldenhoofdstraat) and the “Rue au Beurre”, begins with "De Vos" (The Fox) which was the property of the Sellers of thread and ribbons in the fourteenth century.
After this you can find the shelling of 1695 rebuilt in 1699 with on top of the façade the statue of St. Nicholas. Next door raises the strange gable top of "De Hoorn" (The Horn) or Boatmen's House. It copies the stern of a seventeenth century ship. "La Louve" (The She-wolf) or House of the Archers, bears a bas-relief of Romulus and Remus as well as symbolic sculptures of Truth, Falsity, Peace and Discord. Roman emperors are depicted in the medallions and at the very top the Phoenix as a souvenir of the three fires which had damaged the house. The following house "Le Sac" (The Sack) or House of the Coopers and Carpenters, was their meeting place. The façade is decorated with the tools of their trades. Number 3 bears the names "De Cruywagen" (The Wheelbarrow), or the "Vettewariërs" (Candlemakers) and was restored by the traders in oil and candles after the 1695 shelling. At its top is a niche for the statue of their patron, Saint Gillis.
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The corner-house is called the " Le Roi d’Espagne" (King of Spain) or "Bakkershuis" (Bakers' house). This remarkable house has an octagonal dome and six symbolical figures of Power, Grain, Wind, Fire, Water and Providence decorate the cornice. The façade bears medallions of the Roman emperors. Between the “Rue de la Colline” (Heuvelstraat) and the “ rue des Chapeliers” (Hoedenmakersstraat), the broad front of the seventeenth century "La Maison des Ducs de Brabant" (House of the dukes of Brabant) appears.
The Radisson SAS Hotel is close to the main shopping area and many different entertainment venues of Brussels. For exemple, on the corner of the rue des Chapeliers (Hoedenmakersstraat) stands "Le Mont Thabor" (Mount Thabor), beside "La Rose" (The Rose) and then the impressive "Brouwershuis" (Brewers' Hall), which was previously called "De Gulden Boom" (The Golden Tree). A private Brewing museum is conserved in its cellar. House number 9 is called "La Maison du Cygne" (The Swan) where in 1885 the Belgian Workers' Party, later to become the Socialist Party, was founded about forty years after Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels had met there. The oldest of the group is number 8, "L’Etoile" (The Star), where the town reeve Iived in the fourteenth century. From the balcony he watched executions in the Brusssels Grand Place.
Evrard 't Serclaes , the hero was "murdered in a cowardly way for his defence of the rights of the town" there on March 31, 1388. A memorial plaque to the Burgomaster K. Buis and to 't Serclaes has been placed in the gallery. According to the legend anyone who touches Evrard's arm will be happy for a year and if it is a girl, she will marry within the year.
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