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Location Information:
The
Grand Place or Grote Markt is the
central square of Brussels. It is
surrounded by guildhalls, the city's
Town Hall, and the Breadhouse
(French: Maison du Roi, Dutch:
Broodhuis). The square is the most
important tourist destination and
most memorable landmark in Brussels,
along with the Atomium and Manneken
Pis. It measures 68 by 110 metres
(223 by 360 ft), and it is a UNESCO
World Heritage Site.
In the
10th century, Charles, Duke of Lower
Lorraine constructed a fort on
Saint-Géry Island, the point at
which the Senne river became
navigable. This was the seed of what
would become Brussels. By the end of
the 11th century, an open-air
marketplace was set up on a
dried-out marsh near the fort that
was surrounded by sandbanks. The
market was called the Nedermerckt,
or Lower Market.
The
market likely developed around the
same time as the commercial
development of Brussels. A document
from 1174 mentions a lower market
(Latin: forum inferius) not far from
the port on the Senne river. The
market was well situated along the
Steenweg (Dutch: Causeway), an
important commercial road which
connected the prosperous regions of
the Rhineland and the County of
Flanders.
At the
beginning of the 13th century, three
indoor markets were built on the
northern edge of the Grand Place; a
meat market, a bread market and a
cloth market. These buildings, which
belonged to the Duke of Brabant,
allowed the wares to be showcased
even in bad weather, but also
allowed the Dukes to keep track of
the storage and sale of goods, in
order to collect taxes. Other
buildings, made of wood or stone,
enclosed the Grand Place.
Every
two years in August, an enormous
"flower carpet" is set up in the
Grand Place for a few days. A
million colourful begonias are set
up in patterns, and the display
covers a full 24 by 77 metres (79 by
253 ft), for area total of 1,800
square metres (19,000 sq ft). The
first flower carpet was made in
1971, and due to its popularity, the
tradition continued, with the flower
carpet attracting a large number of
tourists
Local
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