Monument sights in Brussels
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A
Broussaille
Don't miss Broussaille, by Frank Pé. Painted in 1991, it was the city's first giant comic mural, depicting a young couple arm-in-arm discovering Brussels. This strip is located in Brussels' gay nightlife hub and, in the original version, it was difficult to tell whether the couple was straight or not.
Gay establishments used the mural to promote the quarter until 1999 when the mural was repainted and the black-haired figure was given a more feminine hairstyle, earrings and (slightly) bigger breasts.
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B
Congress Column
The Congress Column was erected in 1850 to commemorate the National Congress of 1831 which proclaimed the Belgian constitution. It was designed by Joseph Poelaert (better known for his massive Palais de Justice) and soars 25m high to be crowned by a statue of Léopold I. At its base burns the eternal flame, homage to the Belgians who died during the two world wars. Although the square is at a good elevation, the view from here is drab.
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C
Zinneke
In the old Bruxellois dialect, zinneke means ‘a person of mixed origins’, which sums up the city’s inhabitants to this day. Hence Flemish sculptor Tom Frantzen’s statue of a dog with its leg cocked is a proud mongrel, and has inspired the city’s most exuberant celebration of Brussels’ multifaceted make-up, the Zinneke parade.
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D
Place Royale
Brussels' Royal precinct is based around the busy Place Royale, immediately above Gare Centrale in the Upper Town. Use Mont des Arts's open-air stairway, to reach here from Gare Centrale. At the centre of it stands a statue of Godefroid de Bouillon, an 11th-century crusader considered one of Belgium's ancient heroes.
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E
Jeanneke Pis
Squatting just off Rue des Bouchers, this pigtailed female counterpart of Manneken Pis is the work of sculptor Denis Adrien Debouvrie, who installed her here in 1985, though she’s usually partly obscured by locked iron gates.
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Cityscape
This enormous scrap-wood sculpture by Brussels artist Arne Quinze is a whopping 40m-long, 25m-wide, 18m-high canopy that weighs more than 70 tonne. What it actually represents is anyone’s guess.
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G
Place du Petit Sablon
This enchanting little garden is ringed by 48 bronze statuettes depicting the medieval guilds, and offers respite in between sightseeing and shopping on the nearby Place du Grand Sablon.
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Place des Martyrs
The sombre Place des Martyrs has a monument to the 467 who died in the 1830 revolution.
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