The Royal Saint-Hubert Galleries (french: Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert, nl, Koninklijke Sint-Hubertusgalerijen) is an ensemble of three glazed shopping arcades in central

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, Belgium. It consists of the or ("King's Gallery"), the or ("Queen's Gallery") and the or ("Princes' Gallery"). The galleries were designed and built by the architect

Jean-Pierre Cluysenaer Jean-Pierre Cluysenaar (1811–1880) was a Belgian architect. He is the father of the Cluysenaar family. Family He was born in Kampen in the Netherlands as a son of Joannes Kluysenaar and Garidenia Kluysenaar, a Dutch family of archite ...

between 1846 and 1847, and precede other famous 19th-century European shopping arcades, such as the

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II () is Italy's oldest active shopping gallery and a major landmark of Milan in Italy. Housed within a four-story double arcade in the centre of town, the ''Galleria'' is named after Victor Emmanuel II, the first ki ...

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

and

The Passage Passage, The Passage or Le Passage may refer to: Arts and entertainment Films * ''Passage'' (2008 film), a documentary about Arctic explorers * ''Passage'' (2009 film), a short movie about three sisters * ''The Passage'' (1979 film), starring ...

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. Like them, they have twin regular facades with distant origins in

Vasari Giorgio Vasari (, also , ; 30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance Master, who worked as a painter, architect, engineer, writer, and historian, who is best known for his work ''The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculpt ...

's long narrow street-like courtyard of the

Uffizi The Uffizi Gallery (; it, Galleria degli Uffizi, italic=no, ) is a prominent art museum located adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria in the Historic Centre of Florence in the region of Tuscany, Italy. One of the most important Italian museums ...

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

, with glazed arched shopfronts separated by

pilaster In classical architecture Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the ...

s and two upper floors, all in an

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...

Cinquecento style, under an arched glass-paned roof with a delicate

cast-iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...

framework. The complex was designated a

historic monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, hist ...

in 1986. The galleries are located in the block between the / and the / to the south and east, the / and the / to the north, and the / and the / to the west. This site is served by Brussels Central Station.

History

The Royal Saint-Hubert Galleries were designed by the young architect

, who determined to sweep away a warren of ill-lit alleyways between the / and the / and replace a sordid space where the

bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...

scarcely ventured into with a covered shopping arcade more than in length. His idea, conceived in 1836, was finally authorised in February 1845. The partnership , in which the banker Jean-André Demot took an interest, was established by the summer of that year, but nine years were required to disentangle all the property rights, assembled by rights of eminent domain, during a process that caused one property owner to die of a stroke, and a

barber A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave men's and boys' hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a "barbershop" or a "barber's". Barbershops are also places of social interaction and publi ...

, it was said, to slit his throat as the adjacent house came down. Construction started on 6 May 1846, lasting for 18 months, and the passage was inaugurated on 20 June 1847 by

King Leopold I * nl, Leopold Joris Christiaan Frederik * en, Leopold George Christian Frederick , image = NICAISE Leopold ANV.jpg , caption = Portrait by Nicaise de Keyser, 1856 , reign = 21 July 1831 – , predecessor = Erasme Lou ...

and his two sons. In 1845, the ''Société'' named the three sections of the new passage the /, the / and the /. The ensemble, called the ("Saint-Hubert Passage") has borne its present name since 1965. Under its motto ("Everything for everybody"), displayed in the ''fronton'' of its palace-like facade, the Saint-Hubert Galleries attracted people of fashion. Brilliantly lit, they offered the luxury of outdoor

café A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-ca ...

s in Brussels' inclement climate, in an ambiance of luxury retailers that brought to Brussels the true feel of a European capital. In the premises of La Chronique daily newspaper, on 1 March 1896, the first public showing of

moving picture A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

s took place of the cinematographers Lumière, fresh from their initial triumph in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. A theatre inside the galleries, the Royal Theatre of the Galleries, was designed by Cluysenaer and opened 7 June 1847. It became one of three royal theatres of Brussels, alongside the Royal Theatre of La Monnaie and the

Royal Park Theatre The Royal Park Theatre (french: Théâtre royal du Parc, nl, Koninklijk Parktheater) is a theatre in Brussels, Belgium. It is located at 3, Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat, on the edge of Brussels Park, facing the Belgian House of Parliament (Palace ...

, playing operetta and revues. Its interior was rebuilt in 1951. The Royal Galleries were designated a

on 19 November 1986. In 2008, they were submitted for

World Heritage A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

inscription and are included in

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

's "Tentative List" in the cultural heritage category. Nowadays, the King's Gallery is home to the Museum of Letters and Manuscripts, which honours the greatest men and women of art, history, music, the humanities and science.

Description

The Royal Galleries consist of two major sections, each more than in length (respectively called the /, meaning "King's Gallery", and the /, meaning "Queen's Gallery"), and a smaller side gallery (the /, meaning "Princes' Gallery"). The main sections (King and Queen's Gallery) are separated by a

colonnade In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or curv ...

at the point where the / crosses the gallery complex. At this point, there is a discontinuity in the straight perspective of the galleries. This "bend" was introduced purposefully in order to make the long perspective of the galleries, with its repetition of arches, pilasters and windows, less tedious. * The Galerie du Roi ( nl, Koningsgalerij, link=no, italic=no) stretches from the Rue des Bouchers to the /. It notably houses the Royal Theatre of the Galleries. * The Galerie de la Reine ( nl, Koninginnegalerij, link=no, italic=no), to the south, leads to the /, near the Grand-Place/Grote Markt (Brussels' main square), and on the other side of this street begins the Horta Gallery. Its best known shops are Delvaux leather goods and Neuhaus

chocolatier A chocolatier is a person or company who makes confectionery from chocolate. Chocolatiers are distinct from chocolate makers, who create chocolate from cacao beans and other ingredients. Education and training Traditionally, chocolatiers, e ...

. * The Galerie des Princes ( nl, Prinsengalerij, link=no, italic=no) is located perpendicularly between the Galerie du Roi and the /. File:Galeries Royales Saint Hubert Entree.jpg, The south entrance on the / File:(Belgium) Galeries Royales St Hurbert, Brussels.jpg, Overview of the King's Gallery File:Galerie des Princes 01.JPG, The small side of the Princes' Gallery File:Galeries Royales St Hubert - 170 ans.jpg, Light show organised for the 170th anniversary of the galleries

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links