The interior, with its fine Nave and Aisles, is impressive, especially as you look from the centre down towards the West end. The round pillars of the Nave are handsome, and have the usual figures of the Twelve Apostles. The pulpit is one of the familiar 17th century monstrosities, with palms, and Elijah in the Wilderness. The interior of the pretty little Apse has been so completely modernized as to leave it little interest. There are a few good pictures of the School of Rubens (De Crayer, Van Thulden, etc.).
On emerging from the church, follow the tramway line up the hill to the market-place of the Grand Sablon. Good views in every direction as you enter the Place. The square is animated on Fridays and Sundays, when markets are held here. Pass through the market-place, which contains an absurd 18th century monument, erected by a Marquis of Ailesbury of the period, in gratitude for the hospitality he had received from the citizens of Brussels, and continue on to the Rue de la Régence, passing on your R. the beautiful Apse of the church of Notre-Dame-des-Victoires, now unhappily in course of restoration. The entrance is in the Rue de la Régence, and the church is not oriented.
Notre-Dame-des-Victoires, or Notre-Dame du Sablon, was founded in 1304 by the Guild of Crossbowmen; but the existing late-Gothic building is almost entirely of the 15th and 16th centuries. It has been over-restored in parts, and the beautiful crumbling exterior of the Apse is now threatened with disfigurement.
The interior is pleasing. Over the Main Entrance, within, is a curious ex voto of a ship, in commemoration of the arrival of a sacred image, said to have floated miraculously by sea.
The first chapel to your L. as you enter has a *tomb of Count Flaminio Gamier, secretary to the Duke of Parma, partly restored, but with fine original alabaster reliefs of the early Renaissance, representing the History of the Virgin. The series begins below: (1) Meeting of Joachim and Anna at the Golden Gate; (2) The Birth of the Virgin; (3) The Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple. Then, above: (4) Annunciation; note the relative positions of the angel and Our Lady, the lily, the prie-dieu, and the loggia in the background; (5) the Visitation, with the usual arch; and (6) the Presentation of Christ in the Temple.
The Apse has restored figures of saints (named) in imitation of those which were discovered in ruined fresco during the restoration. They are a good typical collection of the saints most venerated in the Low Countries in the Middle Ages.
The Nave has the usual figures of Apostles, named, and a small open Triforium just below the Clerestory. The Pulpit has on its face a medallion of Our Lady; R. and L., Moses and St. Augustine. Below, the four beasts of the Evangelists.
You need not trouble about any other special building in Brussels; but you may occupy yourself pleasantly with many walks through all parts of the city.
You are now in a position to understand the growth and spread of Brussels. From the very beginning, the merchant town occupied the valley, while the capital of the Counts, Dukes, or Sovereigns spread over the hill, in the neighbourhood of what are still significantly called the Montagne de la Cour and the Place Royale. To this day the two contrasted parts of the city are broadly distinct. The valley speaks Flemish; the mountain, French. In the valley stand all the municipal and mercantile buildings—the Hôtel-de-Ville, the Bourse, the Post-Office, the markets, and the principal places of wholesale business. On the hill stand the Royal Palace, the Government Offices, the Legislative Body, the Ministries, the Palais de Justice, and the whole of the National Museums and collections. From this point of view again, in our own day, the valley is municipal, and the hill national. The contrasted aspects of the Inner Boulevards and the Rue de la Régence well mark the difference. In the valley, you will find, once more, the hotels of commerce and of the passing traveller; on the hill, those frequented by ambassadors and the wealthier class of foreign tourists. Near the Place Royale were situated the houses of the old Brabant nobility, the Egmonts and the Cuylenburgs; as at the present day are situated those of the Arenbergs and the De Chimays.