Garuda Indonesia Colours Magazine May 2018 | Page 120

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Travel | Brussels
The Hotel de Ville (town hall) in the Grand-
Place, Brussels’ main old-town square.
When you visit Brussels, keep your eyes up. Look at the façades
of buildings, at the mouldings over doorways, at gargoyles and
fountains and gingerbread rooflines.
Step inside fabulous old buildings and look
upwards: you might see medieval beams,
art nouveau friezes or a madness of
baroque plasterwork.
This magnificent muddle of styles is hardly
surprising. Brussels is a city of mixed identities:
a former medieval trading powerhouse,
the modest capital of a small nation and
the bureaucratic epicentre of the European
Union, the latter having brought an influx of
money, international ideas and great dining.
It excels in modest pursuits such as beer and
lace-making, yet also has some of Europe’s
most impressive art collections.
While you can see centuries of architecture
in many cities, Brussels is especially notable
for its distinctive art nouveau design from
the turn of the 19 th and the early 20 th century,
a period when attitudes to architecture
were transformed. The pomposity of the
Victorian age seemed stiff and old-fashioned.
The result was a new movement in an
exuberant, bold new style that captured
the optimism and excitement of the modern
age. Art nouveau features curves rather
than right angles, sensuous simplicity,
wrought iron and other metalwork,
pastel colours, and motifs of plants
and animals.
One of art nouveau’s great masters was
Belgian architect and designer Victor
Horta, and his work can be seen all over
the capital. Four of his buildings are World
Heritage listed. Take an appreciative view
of Tassel House (considered the world’s
first true art nouveau building) and
Hôtel Solvay, a private residence despite
its name. Then head to Horta’s own
house in the southern suburbs, now
a museum dedicated to the architect.
It gives a great overview of the design
movement, with displays of lovely
furniture and artworks in perfect harmony
with the building’s gorgeous staircase,
stained glass and metal arches.
Elsewhere, you’ll find many buildings by
Horta’s pupil Gustave Strauven, distinctive
for their yellow and blue brickwork. Small
wonder that Brussels likes to claim it’s the
world capital of art nouveau. Certainly, this
is a city where strolling about always brings
unexpected pleasures for the observant
traveller. Wander where your whims lead
you, and don’t forget to look up, and enjoy.
There’s no better place to do so, of course,
than Grand-Place in the centre of the old
town. It’s one of the most impressive
medieval cobbled squares anywhere in
the world: a Gothic masterpiece of gabled
houses, elaborate gilding and age-old
woodwork. Sadly, the Town Hall is the
only genuine medieval building left, the rest
having been reconstructed in stages after
a 1695 war with the French. Still, Renaissance
flourishes only add to the charm, and
Grand-Place seems timeless, a public space
straight from a fairy-tale illustration, happily
enlivened and prettified by cafés, a flower
market and regular free concerts.
Grand-Place is one of several venues that
host the Brussels Jazz Weekend (May 25–27
this year) with its schedule of free jazz, blues