Belgium > Inside the Atomium

On the last day of our city trip, we start with breakfast in the little bar under the hotel. Then we pack our luggage and check out at reception. We bring the bags to the car in the parking garage. For the last time, we take a stroll through the city centre. We’ve probably crossed most streets and alleys over the past few days. We end up at the main square. At ten o’clock we have booked a guided tour of the town hall. We are a bit early. Using the travel guide, we read about the history of the town hall and the guild houses on the square. The building on the southeast side of the square turns out not to be one single building, but in fact six different houses. Only when we look closely do we see the separate entrances and different doors. The house next to the town hall was demolished at the end of the 19th century to widen the passage to Buls Street. Later the little house was rebuilt, with the ground floor remaining a passageway for pedestrians. This is the smallest house on the square. In the adjoining building, German socialists used to meet. Next to that stands the brewers’ museum. At exactly ten o’clock we meet the guide in the inner courtyard of the town hall. She tells us she is glad that tourists are coming again. It has been very quiet in recent months. Today’s group consists of five people.

Belgium - The old council chamber in the town hall is still in use

That’s still small, she sighs. The oldest part of the town hall was built in 1402. In competition with the city of Bruges, the town hall had to be bigger and more beautiful. When the city of Leuven built an even larger town hall, a second wing was added in Brussels and the 97-metre-high tower was built. In 1695, during the French invasion, the Grand Place and the town hall came under heavy fire. The town hall burned down. Most of the other houses around the square were also lost. Within five years after the attack, they managed to restore the square even more beautifully, resulting in its present appearance. Inside, the town hall is even more beautiful. The council chamber, with its golden ceiling and fine historic tapestries, is still in use today. We walk through reception rooms, the wedding hall, and the waiting room for a mayoral visit. In the corridors hang paintings of former rulers. The paintings were lost in the fire, the guide explains. The replicas are not always of good quality. She looks somewhat disheartened as she says this. After the visit to the town hall, we return to the parking garage. In twenty minutes, we drive to the district of Laeken. Just behind the Gothic Church of Our Lady lies the oldest cemetery in Brussels. Large family graves stand like huge monuments in the graveyard. Beneath the graves is a network of passageways with niches for the tombs. Due to lack of space in the cemetery, they chose to build an underground gallery system. A staircase takes us into the burial galleries. As far as I can see down the corridors, people are buried. It’s a bit like a giant chest of drawers. Hundreds of metres of graves lie beneath the cemetery. Quite remarkable to see. In the Gothic Church of Our Lady, the Sunday mass has just ended. We take a look inside. The interior of the church is somewhat disappointing and looks rather plain. Perhaps we have been spoiled by the St. Michael and St. Gudula Cathedral. We get back in the car for the final leg of our city trip. In less than ten minutes, we reach the Heysel Park. From a distance, we can already see the large spheres of the Atomium. The Atomium was built for the 1958 World’s Fair.

Belgium - The ground floor in the Atomium

Originally, architect Waterkeyn’s structure was not intended to remain, but the nine gleaming spheres soon turned out to be a big tourist attraction. At the beginning of this century, the Atomium was thoroughly restored. The panels around the spheres were replaced to better withstand the elements. We take the lift to the highest sphere. In 1958, this was the fastest lift in the world. That is no longer the case today. At almost one hundred metres high, there is a view over Brussels.

Belgium - The Atomium is still a tourist attraction

I can see the Koekelberg Basilica, the Palace of Justice, the town hall tower, and the tall buildings of the European quarter. A beautiful summary of our weekend. In the lower spheres, there is an exhibition about the construction of the Atomium and the World’s Fair. The spheres can be reached by escalators or regular stairs. At half past three, we get into the car for the last time and head for the Netherlands.