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The Palace of Justice of Brussels (french: Palais de Justice de Bruxelles, ;
Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People ...
: ) or Law Courts of Brussels, nl, Rechtbank van Brussel is a
courthouse A courthouse or court house is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English-spe ...
in
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 is the country's most important court building, seat of the judicial ''arrondissement'' of Brussels, as well as of several courts and tribunals, including the Court of Cassation (Belgian
supreme court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
), the Court of Assizes (highest criminal court), the
Court of Appeal A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of ...
of Brussels (
appellate court A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of ...
), the Tribunal of First Instance of Brussels (
general jurisdiction {{Globalize, article, USA, 2name=the United States, date=December 2010 A court of general jurisdiction is a court with authority to hear cases of all kinds – criminal, civil, family, probate, and so forth. United States All federal courts are ...
), and the Bar Association of Brussels. Designed by the architect Joseph Poelaert, in an eclectic style of
Greco-Roman The Greco-Roman civilization (; also Greco-Roman culture; spelled Graeco-Roman in the Commonwealth), as understood by modern scholars and writers, includes the geographical regions and countries that culturally—and so historically—were dir ...
inspiration, to replace an older courthouse, the current building was erected between 1866 and 1883. With a ground surface of , the edifice is reputed to be the largest constructed in the 19th century and remains one of the largest of its kind. The total cost of the construction, land, and furnishings was somewhere in the region of 50 million
Belgian franc The Belgian franc ( nl, Belgische frank, french: Franc belge, german: Belgischer Franken) was the currency of the Kingdom of Belgium from 1832 until 2002 when the Euro was introduced. It was subdivided into 100 subunits, each known as a in Dutch ...
s. The building suffered heavy damage during World War II, when the cupola was destroyed, and later rebuilt higher than the original. The whole structure has been under renovation since 1984. The Palace of Justice is located on the / in the Marolles/Marollen district (southern part of Brussels' city centre). A notable landmark of Brussels, this site is served by Louise/Louiza metro station (on lines 2 and 6 of the
Brussels Metro The Brussels Metro (french: Métro de Bruxelles, nl, Brusselse metro) is a rapid transit system serving a large part of the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium. It consists of four conventional metro lines and three ''premetro'' lines. The me ...
), as well as the
homonym In linguistics, homonyms are words which are homographs (words that share the same spelling, regardless of pronunciation), or homophones (equivocal words, that share the same pronunciation, regardless of spelling), or both. Using this definition, ...
ous
tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
stop (on lines 8 and 92). From the lower part of town, it is also possible to take public
elevator An elevator or lift is a cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or decks of a building, vessel, or other structure. They are ...
s, called the Poelaert Elevators, to access it.


History


First courthouse (1818–1892)

The current Palace of Justice is located on the ''Galgenberg'' hill (french: Mont aux potences, link=no; "Gallows Mount"), between Brussels' upper and lower town, where in the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
convicted criminals were hanged, hence its name. A first
courthouse A courthouse or court house is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English-spe ...
had been erected, at a different location, in the Sablon/Zavel district, on the / (today's /), between the / (today's /) and the (now-disappeared) /. Built between 1818 and 1823 by the French architect on the site of a former
Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...
church, this first neoclassical structure had quickly deteriorated, and the question of building a new and larger courthouse arose as early as 1837. The condition was that the building could accommodate all civil and military jurisdictions under one roof. The choice of location, however, gave rise to heated controversies. It was indeed initially planned to rebuild it in the same place, but this project, the cost of which was estimated at 3 million
Belgian franc The Belgian franc ( nl, Belgische frank, french: Franc belge, german: Belgischer Franken) was the currency of the Kingdom of Belgium from 1832 until 2002 when the Euro was introduced. It was subdivided into 100 subunits, each known as a in Dutch ...
s,quickly aborted. The idea of building it in the newly developed
Leopold Quarter The Leopold Quarter (french: Quartier Léopold, Dutch: ) is a quarter of Brussels, Belgium. Today, the term is sometimes confused with the European Quarter, as the area has come to be dominated by the institutions of the European Union (EU) ...
in the eastern part of town was no more successful. In 1846–47, another reconstruction project was also buried. File:Oud jp.png, The former Palace of Justice (Verly, 1823) on the / File:Ancien palais de justice de Bruxelles.png, Beginning of the demolition of the former Palace of Justice (1892) File:1892, vue sur les travaux de démolition de l'ancien Palais de Justice et du percement de la rue Lebeau.jpg, Demolition in progress and construction of the / (1892)


Inception of the project (1858–1866)

In 1858, the then-Minister of Justice, Victor Tesch, suggested for the first time the gardens of the
House of Merode The House of Merode is one of the most prominent families of the Belgian nobility. The House of Merode originates from the village of Merode (today in the municipality of Langerwehe, Germany). Over the last five centuries different branches b ...
, where the extension of the / would be constructed. The governor of the Province of Brabant suggested that it would be possible at the same time to link the new Louise/Louiza district to the city centre. Following a proposal from the advisor to the
Court of Appeal A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of ...
, , aiming at installing the building perpendicular to the Rue de la Régence rather than to the right of this extension, a study was entrusted to the Chief Engineer Groetaers. In his report, Groetaers recommended to erect a building of , with a fronting facing a 100 m square. Disagreements having arisen between Groetaers and the city's mayor, the latter called for a competition for the building's design. On 27 March 1860, an international architectural competition, endowed with three prizes, was therefore organised by
royal decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used for ...
. After several failed proposals, Tesch appointed the city's municipal architect, Joseph Poelaert, to draw plans of the building in 1861. The architect already enjoyed an excellent reputation, having to his credit a series of very prestigious projects in the capital, such as the commemorative
Congress Column The Congress Column (french: Colonne du Congrès, nl, Congreskolom) is a monumental column in Brussels, Belgium, commemorating the creation of the Belgian Constitution by the National Congress of 1830–31. Inspired by Trajan's Column in Rome ...
(1850), the Church of St. Catherine (1854) and the restoration of the Royal Theatre of La Monnaie (1855). In April 1862, Poelaert submitted a preliminary draft, which was approved by Tesch. It was then in Paris, far from the pressures and influences of Brussels, that Poelaert withdrew to put the final touches to his plans. There, he gathered a team of designers including and Édouard Corroyer. Given the prominent place that the Palace of Justice was called upon to occupy in the urban landscape, Poelaert opted for an eclectic style of
Greco-Roman The Greco-Roman civilization (; also Greco-Roman culture; spelled Graeco-Roman in the Commonwealth), as understood by modern scholars and writers, includes the geographical regions and countries that culturally—and so historically—were dir ...
inspiration. Although he was inspired by classicism, he created a totally personal and original work.


Construction (1866–1883)

The first stone was laid on 31 October 1866. At Poelaert's request, the management of the works was entrusted to the engineer , Inspector General of the Ministry of Public Works and President of the Royal Commission of Monuments between 1865 and 1897. After Poelaert's death on 3 November 1879, the construction was taken over by the architect Joseph Joachim Benoît. The building was inaugurated on 15 October 1883 by
King Leopold II * german: link=no, Leopold Ludwig Philipp Maria Viktor , house = Saxe-Coburg and Gotha , father = Leopold I of Belgium , mother = Louise of Orléans , birth_date = , birth_place = Brussels, Belgium , death_date = ...
in the presence of his wife Queen Marie-Henriette, his daughter Princess Clémentine, and members of the
Belgian Royal Family Belgium is a constitutional, hereditary, and popular monarchy. The monarch is titled king or queen of the Belgians ( nl, Koning(in) der Belgen, french: Roi / Reine des Belges}, german: König(in) der Belgier) and serves as the country's he ...
. As for the old courthouse, it was demolished in 1892 for the construction of the /, which leads into the Place de la Justice. For the Palace of Justice's construction, a section of the Marolles/Marollen neighbourhood was demolished, while most of the garden belonging to the House of Merode was also expropriated. The 75 landlords belonging to the
nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteris ...
and the high bourgeoisie, many of whom lived in their homes, received large indemnities, while the other more modest inhabitants, about a hundred, were also forced to move by the
Belgian Government The Federal Government of Belgium ( nl, Federale regering, french: Gouvernement fédéral, german: Föderalregierung) exercises executive power in the Kingdom of Belgium. It consists of ministers and secretary of state ("junior", or deputy-mini ...
, though they were compensated with houses in the ''Tillens-Roosendael'' garden city (french: cité-jardin Tillens-Roosendael, link=no) in the ''Quartier du Chat'' in the
Uccle Uccle () or Ukkel () is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. In common with all of Brussels' municipalities, it is legally bilingual (French–Dutch). It is generally considered an affluent area of the city an ...
municipality. Poelaert himself resided in the Marolles, only a few hundred metres from the building, on the /, in a house adjoining his vast offices and workshops and communicating with them. It is thus unlikely he saw himself as ruining the neighbourhood. Nonetheless, many angry citizens personally blamed Poelaert for the forced relocations, and the expression ''schieven architect'' (meaning "shameful architect") became one of the most serious insults in the dialect of the Marolles. Although the construction took place during the reign of Leopold II, the king showed little interest in the building, and it is not considered part of his extensive architectural programme in Brussels nor his legacy as the "Builder-King". File:Inplantingsplan op Popp 1866.png, Development plan (1866) File:Grondwerken jp.png, Groundwork (1867) File:Steigerbouw jp.png, Assemblage of the scaffolding (1875) File:Laatste steenlegging 1 juli 1882.png, Last stone laying (1882)


Damage and renovation (1945–present)

At the end of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, on the eve of the liberation of Brussels, the retreating German forces started a fire in the Palace of Justice in order to destroy it, as well as the legal records it contained. As a result, the cupola collapsed and part of the building was heavily damaged. The explosion of a V-1 rocket in the Rue des Minimes two months later caused additional damage. In 1947, the restoration work was entrusted to the architect-engineer and custodian of the Palace, . By 1948, most of the building was repaired, and the cupola was rebuilt higher than the original, whose somewhat flat shape had previously been criticised. Renovations on the building have been in progress since 1984. These renovations pertain to the repair and strengthening of the roof structure and the walls, as well as putting a new layer on the
gilded Gilding is a decorative technique for applying a very thin coating of gold over solid surfaces such as metal (most common), wood, porcelain, or stone. A gilded object is also described as "gilt". Where metal is gilded, the metal below was tra ...
cupola. In 2002–03, the roofing was renewed and the structural structure was repaired and reinforced. On 1 September 2003, the protective foil was removed from the dome, thus becoming once again an eye-catcher in the skyline of Brussels. Progress is slow, however, and in 2013, it was reported that the decade-old
scaffolding Scaffolding, also called scaffold or staging, is a temporary structure used to support a work crew and materials to aid in the construction, maintenance and repair of buildings, bridges and all other man-made structures. Scaffolds are widely used ...
was so rusted and unsafe that the scaffolding itself was in need of renovation. Since the end of the 20th century, many jurisdictions have successively left the Palace of Justice on the grounds that it no longer meets the criteria required for the exercise of contemporary justice, particularly in terms of the required workspace. The
Government of the Brussels-Capital Region The government of the Brussels-Capital Region was the political administration of the Brussels Capital Region of Belgium. (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) An election is held every five years. T ...
ended up issuing two designations orders, on 3 May 2001 and on 28 February 2008, "Because of its historical, artistic and technical interest". In 2008, a proposal was made for the building's recognition as a
World Heritage Site 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 ...
by
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 ...
. In 2016, the
World Monuments Fund World Monuments Fund (WMF) is a private, international, non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of historic architecture and cultural heritage sites around the world through fieldwork, advocacy, grantmaking, education, and traini ...
placed the courthouse on its list of endangered monuments. In 2018, following the collapse of part of the ceiling, Jean de Codt , first president of the Court of Cassation and highest
magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a ''magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...
in the country, spoke openly in the media to demand additional financial resources to ensure the building's sustainability and the safety of those who work there. Several plans have followed to find solutions to the dilapidated rooms and to security problems, but the work is expected to last for many more years, leaving the building's future uncertain. As of 2022, additional renovation plans have been announced, with completion expected now for "2024 or 2025".


Dimensions

Brussels' Palace of Justice was, at the time of its construction, the largest building in the world, and remains today one of the largest courthouses. The edifice is currently , and has a total built ground surface of , bigger than
St. Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal en ...
in
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (Romulus and Remus, legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg ...
. The
dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a ...
weighs . The building has 8 courtyards with a surface of , 27 large court rooms and 245 smaller court rooms and other rooms. Situated on a hill with a steep incline, there is a level difference of between the upper and lower town, which results in multiple entrances to the building at different levels. The building includes huge interior statues of Demosthenes and Lycurgus by the sculptor , and figures of the Roman jurists
Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...
and Ulpian by Antoine-Félix Bouré. The central portico, high, is surmounted by a helmeted bust of the ancient Greek Titaness
Themis In Greek mythology and religion, Themis (; grc, Θέμις, Themis, justice, law, custom) is one of the twelve Titan children of Gaia and Uranus, and the second wife of Zeus. She is the goddess and personification of justice, divine order, f ...
,
personification Personification occurs when a thing or abstraction is represented as a person, in literature or art, as a type of anthropomorphic metaphor. The type of personification discussed here excludes passing literary effects such as "Shadows hold their ...
of divine law and order, by . Moreover, the impressive main hall or ''salle des pas perdus'' (literally meaning "room of the lost steps") is around including the first floor gallery; long and wide. A
compass rose A compass rose, sometimes called a wind rose, rose of the winds or compass star, is a figure on a compass, map, nautical chart, or monument used to display the orientation of the cardinal directions (north, east, south, and west) and their int ...
with sixteen rays marks the centre of the room. Many questions remain on this project which saw its budget exceed 50 million
Belgian franc The Belgian franc ( nl, Belgische frank, french: Franc belge, german: Belgischer Franken) was the currency of the Kingdom of Belgium from 1832 until 2002 when the Euro was introduced. It was subdivided into 100 subunits, each known as a in Dutch ...
s (which was equivalent to an entire year of public works in the country at the time) for an initial estimate of barely 4 million. The excessiveness of the site, and the freedom left to the architect to override almost all the rules initially imposed, remain a great mystery. File:Justitiepaleis03.jpg, The monumental marble staircase File:Inside Of The Palace Of Justice Brussels 2017 (209160057).jpeg, The main entry hall or ''salle des pas perdus'' File:Porte d'entrée du palais de Justice de Bruxelles (HDR) - 2043-0077-0.jpg, One of the massive neoclassical doors File:Palais De Justice Brussels 2017 Inside Up To The Cupola (209382509).jpeg, At the centre of the building looking upwards towards the dome


Usage

The Palace of Justice is the most important court building in Belgium, seat of the country's different courts and tribunals, most notably the Court of Cassation, its
supreme court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
. The Court of Cassation handles cases in the two main
languages of Belgium The Kingdom of Belgium has three official languages: Dutch ( Flemish), French, and German. A number of non-official, minority languages and dialects are spoken as well. Official languages Legal status The Belgian Constitution guarantees, ...
, being Dutch and French, and provides certain facilities for cases in German. The Court of Assizes ( criminal court which tries the most serious crimes), the
Court of Appeal A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of ...
of Brussels (
appellate court A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of ...
), as well as the Tribunal of First Instance of Brussels (
general jurisdiction {{Globalize, article, USA, 2name=the United States, date=December 2010 A court of general jurisdiction is a court with authority to hear cases of all kinds – criminal, civil, family, probate, and so forth. United States All federal courts are ...
), also seat there. The Palace of Justice also includes within it the prosecution services adjoining these jurisdictions, as well as various libraries.


Courts and tribunals

* Court of Cassation: 1st president, Griffie-Clerck and Prosecution * Court of Assizes * Court of Appeal of Brussels: 1st president, Griffie-Clerck and Prosecution * Tribunal of First Instance of Brussels


Libraries

* Library of the Magistrate * Library of the Bar Association of Brussels * Library of the Lawyers


Arrondissement of Brussels

Moreover, the Palace of Justice is the seat of the judicial ''arrondissement'' of Brussels (covering the entire
Brussels-Capital Region 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 ...
), having split from the
Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...
part of the former bilingual ''arrondissement'' of Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde (BHV) in mid-2012 (which made Halle-Vilvoorde a monolingual Flemish electoral and judicial district).


Bar Association of Brussels

Finally, the Palace of Justice is also home to the Bar Association of Brussels (french: Barreau de Bruxelles, link=no, nl, Balie te Brussel, link=no), a professional order of 7,000 Brussels lawyers, founded on 14 December 1810. Since 1984, the Bar Association of Brussels has been split into two, the French-speaking order () and the Dutch-speaking order (). File:Hof van Cassatie - gewone zittingszaal.jpg, Standard
courtroom A courtroom is the enclosed space in which courts of law are held in front of a judge. A number of courtrooms, which may also be known as "courts", may be housed in a courthouse. In recent years, courtrooms have been equipped with audiovisual ...
of the Court of Cassation in the Palace of Justice File:Grote Audiëntiezaal van het Hof van Cassatie, nog zonder portret Leopold I.png, Old image of the Court's grand courtroom, used for larger sessions and judicial ceremonies File:Barreau2012.jpg, Logo of the Bar Association of Brussels (French-speaking order)


Surroundings

The / in front of the Palace of Justice is the largest square in Brussels, measuring . The initial development project, which provided for a large square in a semicircle (1862), could not be implemented due to Poelaert's sudden death. Consequently, this square does not have an architectural unity in the buildings that surrounds it, nor the belvedere coming from the original plan, and instead constitutes a vast transit space unsuitable for pedestrians, not functioning as an urban square but as a
roundabout A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford Eng ...
for cars preventing the appropriation of the place by walkers. In 1905, it was the scene of prestigious commemorations for the 75th anniversary of
Belgian Independence The Belgian Revolution (, ) was the conflict which led to the secession of the southern provinces (mainly the former Southern Netherlands) from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the establishment of an independent Kingdom of Belgium. Th ...
. Nowadays, it offers one of Brussels' finest views. From the elevated vantage point, the famous tower of Brussels' Town Hall on the Grand-Place/Grote Markt is clearly visible. On a sunny day, the Koekelberg Basilica and even the
Atomium The Atomium ( , , ) is a landmark building in Brussels, Belgium, originally constructed for the 1958 Brussels World's Fair (Expo '58). It is located on the Heysel/Heizel Plateau in Laeken (northern part of the City of Brussels), where the exhi ...
can be seen. Next to the Palace of Justice, on the Place Poelaert, stand two
war memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...
s: the Belgian Infantry Memorial by Edouard Vereycken (1935) and the Anglo-Belgian Memorial by
Charles Sargeant Jagger Charles Sargeant Jagger (17 December 1885 – 16 November 1934) was a British sculptor who, following active service in the First World War, sculpted many works on the theme of war. He is best known for his war memorials, especially the Royal ...
(1923). In addition, the Poelaert Elevators, in popular language the Elevators of the Marolles, are a set of two public
elevator An elevator or lift is a cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or decks of a building, vessel, or other structure. They are ...
s that connects the upper and lower town between the Place Poelaert and the /. They were executed by the AVA Architects office, under the coordination of the architect Patrice Neirinck, and were inaugurated in June 2002. File:Place Poelaert.jpg, The / seen from the stairs of the Palace of Justice File:Infantry Memorial - Brussels, Belgium - DSC07698.jpg, Belgian Infantry Memorial ( Vereycken, 1935) File:Anglo-Belgian Memorial Brussels 01.jpg, Anglo-Belgian Memorial ( Sargeant Jagger, 1923) File:20110712 bruxelles018.jpg, Poelaert Elevators (Neirinck, 2002)


Influence

There is a well-known story that
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...
was reportedly fond of the building.
Albert Speer Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer (; ; 19 March 1905 – 1 September 1981) was a German architect who served as the Minister of Armaments and War Production in Nazi Germany during most of World War II. A close ally of Adolf Hitler, h ...
, the Minister of Armaments and War Production in
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
, stated in his book ''Inside the Third Reich'' that he had been dispatched to Brussels in 1940 to study the building. Although lacking the dome and being much smaller, the Palace of Justice in
Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of th ...
, Peru; which houses the
Supreme Court of Peru The Supreme Court of Justice is the highest judicial court in Peru. Its jurisdiction extends over the entire territory of the nation. It is headquartered in the Palace of Justice (Peru), Palace of Justice in Lima. Structure The supreme court is ...
, is based upon Brussels' Palace of Justice.


In popular culture


Books

* The Palace of Justice is represented in the album ''The Last Pharaoh'', published in 2019, from the
comic strip A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st ...
series ''
Blake and Mortimer ''Blake and Mortimer'' is a Belgian comics series created by the writer and comics artist Edgar P. Jacobs. It was one of the first series to appear in the Franco-Belgian comics magazine '' Tintin'' in 1946, and was subsequently published in boo ...
'', in which it plays a central place of the plot.


See also

*
Neoclassical architecture in Belgium Neoclassical architecture ( nl, Neoclassicistische architectuur, french: Architecture néo-classique) appeared in Belgium during the period of Austrian occupation in the mid-18th century and enjoyed considerable longevity in the country, survivi ...
*
History of 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 in "the long nineteenth century"


References


Footnotes


Notes


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * *


External links


Climbing the Law Courts
*
Justitiepaleis
or
Palais de justice
{{Authority control Palaces in Brussels Libraries in Belgium City of Brussels Protected heritage sites in Brussels Law of Belgium
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 ...
Government buildings completed in 1883 Terminating vistas