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126 Route 10. BRUSSELS. Lower Town:
Eglise du Finistére, built at the beginning of the 18th cent. and
enlarged in 1828, so called from the inscription upon it: ‘Laus tua
in fines terre’, The modern warehouse opposite was designed by
Tietz. Farther on, to the right is the Passage du Nord, leading to
the Boulevard du Nord (p. 131); to the left is the quiet Galerie du
Commerce, a glass arcade. — In the adjacent Place des Martyrs
(Pl. D, 2), laid out in 1775 by Fisco and formerly called Place
St. Michel, rises the Martyrs’ Monument, by W. Gee/s, erected in
1838 to the memory of the Belgians who fell in 1830 while fight-
ing against the Dutch. It includes a statue of liberated Belgium,
several reliefs in marble, and tablets recording the names of the
‘martyrs’, 445 in number. The adjacent columns with medallion-
portraits of Jenneval, author of the ‘Brabangonne’, the Belgian
national anthem, and of Count Fréd. de Mérode (p. 102), were
erected in 1897 and 1898.
The PLacg DE LA Monnatz (PI. D, 3), or Muntplaats, is so called
from the former Mint, the site of which is now occupied by the Post
and Telegraph Office (Pl. D, 2,3), erected in 1885-92 from designs
by De Curte. The various rooms for the public postal business are
in the centre of the groundfloor; to the right are the telegraph and
telephone offices. The central vestibule is frescoed by Em. van den
Bussche (1896). — Opposite the Post Office rises the ThéAtre Royal
de la Monnaie, with a colonnade of eight Ionic columns, erected by
the Parisian architect Damesme in 1817. The bas-relief in the
tympanum, executed by Simonis in 1854, represents the Harmony
of Human Passions. The interior, which was remodelled after a fire
in 1855, is decorated in the Louis XIV. style and can contain 1600
spectators. The ceiling-paintings were executed from designs by
the Belgian artists Hendrickx, Verheyden, Hamman, and Wauters.
The Fosse-aux-Loups aud the Rue de V Ecuyer, to the N. and S.
respectively of the Place de la Monnaie, ascend with their E. con-
tinuations to the church of Ste. Gudule (p. 104). The Rue des
Colonies, a street opened beside the church in 1909, offers a new
route to the upper town (Rue de la Loi, p. 100).— At the upper end
of the Rue de l’Eouyer is the N. entrance to the Galerie St. Hubert.
The line of the Rue Neuve is continued to the S. from the Place
de la Monnaie by the Ruz prs Frrerers (Pl. D, 3), which crosses
the Ruz Marcus - aux -Pounets beside the ancient and frequently
restored church of St. Nicolas. The latter street, continued by the
Ruz Marcuté-aux-Herpes (the lanes to the right of which run to
the Grand’ Place, p. 128), and the Rue de la Madeleine, is the main
artery of traffic to the upper town.
In the Marché-aux-Herbes, at the corner of the Rue de la Mon-
tagne, is the entrance to the Galerie St. Hubert (Pl. D, 3), con-
structed from a plan by Cluysenaar in 1847, a spacious and attractive
arcade with tempting shops (234 yds. in length, 26 ft. in width, and
59 ft. in height). It connects the Marché-aux-Herbes with the Rue |
