The Egmont Palace (, ; ), also sometimes known as the Arenberg Palace
(; ), is a
neoclassical palace in
Brussels
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
, Belgium. It was originally built between 1548 and 1560 for Countess Françoise of Luxembourg and
Count Lamoral of Egmont, though its appearance was heavily modified in the 18th and 19th centuries. It was partly destroyed by fire in 1892, after which it was once again reconstructed. Nowadays, it is used by the
Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for receptions, as a guest house and conference centre.
The palace is situated in the
Sablon/Zavel district (south-eastern part of
Brussels' city centre), between the / and the /. This site is served by
Porte de Namur/Naamsepoort metro station (on lines
2 and
6 of the
Brussels Metro
The Brussels 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 metro-grade lines are M1, M2, M5, and M6 wi ...
), as well as the
tram
A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...
stop / (on lines 92 and 93).
History
The Palace of Françoise of Luxembourg
The original Egmont Palace was built between 1548 and 1560 as a ''
hôtel particulier
() is the French term for a grand urban mansion, comparable to a Townhouse (Great Britain), British townhouse. Whereas an ordinary (house) was built as part of a row, sharing party walls with the houses on either side and directly fronting on a ...
'' in
Flemish Gothic style for , Princess of Gavre and widow of
Count John IV of Egmont, who in 1532 had acquired the land between the / and the / on the highest part of the
Sablon/Zavel. Nothing remains of this residence, which was called the ''Petit Hôtel d'Egmont'' ("Small Hotel of Egmont") or ''Hôtel de Luxembourg'' ("Hotel of Luxembourg").
Around 1560, her son,
Count Lamoral of Egmont, had a new residence in
Flemish Renaissance style built next door called the ''Grand Hôtel d'Egmont'' ("Grand Hotel of Egmont"), before being executed on the orders of the
Duke of Alba in 1568. Confiscated after his conviction, these properties were returned to the Egmont family in 1576. Originally, the two properties were separated by a street that led to the
city walls
A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications such as curtain walls with to ...
and was located in the axis of the current /. Françoise of Luxembourg obtained authorisation from the Court of Audits to close it. Later, a connecting wing was built on its site.
18th- and 19th-century expansions
The palace's fabric was dramatically transformed in the 18th century, when these two properties gradually passed into the hands of the
House of Arenberg. In 1729, Duke Léopold-Philippe d'Arenberg rented the Grand Hôtel d'Egmont, then, in 1737, the Petit Hôtel, which he acquired in 1738. After a first failed attempt in 1745, he also bought the Grand Hôtel in 1754, thus uniting the two properties once again. The Grand Hôtel then took the name of ''Hôtel d'Arenberg'' ("Hotel of Arenberg"), while the Petit Hôtel kept that of Egmont.

Duke Charles Marie Raymond d'Arenberg, son of Léopold-Philippe, had major alterations carried out. The dilapidated façade and the tower of the Grand Hôtel were demolished and the duke entrusted the Italian architect
Giovanni Niccolò Servandoni
Jean-Nicolas Servan, also known as Giovanni Niccolò Servandoni (2 May 1695 – 19 January 1766) was an Italian decorator, architect, scene-painter, firework designer and trompe-l'œil specialist.
He was born in Florence, the son of a French ...
, an early advocate of
neoclassicism
Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative arts, decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiq ...
, the care to build two buildings to the right of a main courtyard preceded by a monumental portal. The first one, clothed in a
neoclassical style, was in harmony with the only part of the 16th-century palace that was preserved, the Italian Renaissance wing at the end of the main courtyard; the other, in
Rococo
Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...
style, was lower. Towards the Rue aux Laines, a neoclassical-style chapel was built in 1770, whose concave façade formed the junction with the Petit Hôtel.
After the occupation of the
Austrian Netherlands
The Austrian Netherlands was the territory of the Burgundian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire between 1714 and 1797. The period began with the acquisition by the Austrian Habsburg monarchy of the former Spanish Netherlands under the Treaty of Ras ...
by the
French revolutionaries, the estates of the Duke of Arenberg experienced a few difficult years. The duke had to leave the country in 1794, and in his absence, the palace was placed in receivership. It housed various agents of the French administration, notably Bouteville, General Commissioner of the United Departments, who found the buildings in a deplorable state. Under
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
, Louis-Engelbert d'Arenberg recovered his property after joining the regime.
In the 19th century, Duke Prosper-Louis d'Arenberg commissioned major works. He entrusted the work to
Tilman-François Suys, one of the most renowned architects of the time. He built the carousel in the neoclassical style in 1832, then extended the wing known as the "French Quarter", thus giving the ''cour du sanglier'' ("wild boar's courtyard") its current appearance. In 1835, the left wing of the main courtyard was built on land belonging to the former convent of the Discalced Carmelites. This construction was first called the ''Petit Hôtel d'Arenberg'' ("Small Hotel of Arenberg").
Fire and reconstruction
On the night of 22 to 23 January 1892, the palace was devastated by a fire that destroyed the oldest part of the buildings—Françoise de Luxembourg's mansion, which dated back to the 16th century—the chapel and part of the right wing of the main courtyard. Of the destroyed parts nothing remains, apart from a few
Ionic columns, which have been placed in Egmont Park.
After the fire, the part on the Rue aux Laines completely changed appearance. The long wall that ran along it on the side of Egmont Park was demolished, and after the duke had ceded to the town a strip of land to enlarge it, he had twenty-six houses built there. The reconstruction of the palace's right wing between 1906 and 1910 was carried out by the architect in the same neoclassical style as the left wing built by Suys, giving it its current uniform appearance. It was at this time that the grand staircase of honour was integrated into the palace, inspired by the former of the
Palace of Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...
. This sumptuous copy, all in marble, welcomes personalities during certain major international political meetings held in Brussels.
File:Egmont palace in Brussels before the fire.jpg, The oldest part of the Egmont Palace (right) before the fire of 1892
File:L'incendie du palais d'Arenberg, à Bruxelles, dans la nuit du 22 janvier (1892) (cropped).jpg, The Palace on fire seen from the /, 22 January 1892
20th and 21st centuries
The Egmont Palace was the host venue of the
fencing events for the
1920 Summer Olympics
The 1920 Summer Olympics (; ; ), officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad (; ; ) and commonly known as Antwerp 1920 (; Dutch language, Dutch and German language, German: ''Antwerpen 1920''), were an international multi-sport event held i ...
in its garden. At the end of
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, , who was a German national, feared that his assets in Belgium would be placed in receivership. On 31 October 1918, he therefore sold the Arenberg Palace to the
City of Brussels
The City of Brussels is the largest List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, municipality and historical City centre, centre of the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region, as well as the capital of the French Community of Belgium, the ...
. The deed of sale was the last official document on which the palace appeared under this name, which had overly German connotations. It then firmly took its current name of Egmont Palace. Major conferences took place then at the palace, such as the foundation of the
League against Imperialism and Colonial Oppression in 1927. However, unable to meet the maintenance costs of the buildings, which had, moreover, been damaged by additional fires in 1927 and 1959, the City sold the property to the
Belgian State in 1964. The buildings were then assigned to the
Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which charged the ambassador Luc Smolderen with their extensive restoration and redecoration.
In recent years, the palace has become an important venue for major diplomatic events in Brussels. The Treaty of Accession of Great Britain, Ireland, Norway and Denmark to the
EEC
The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...
was signed at the palace in 1972, as was the
Egmont Pact on the
Belgian State reform during the second administration of then-
Prime Minister
A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
Leo Tindemans in 1977. The
Egmont Group
The Egmont Group (officially Egmont International Holding A/S; known as Gutenberghus Group until 1992) is a Danish media corporation founded and rooted in Copenhagen, Denmark. The business area of Egmont has traditionally been magazine publishi ...
, which was named after the palace, was also founded at a meeting of national financial intelligence units from several countries there in 1995. Since 11 September 1992, the palace has been listed as a
protected monument
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
by the Monuments and Sites Directorate of the Brussels-Capital Region.
Nowadays, it is used for receptions and meetings by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and hosts many events organised by the
Royal Institute for International Relations (also known as the Egmont Institute).
File:Palais d'Egmont (coté parc) - panoramio.jpg, The courtyard seen from Egmont Park
File:Palais d'Egmont - entrée et grilles - panoramio.jpg, View of the façade of the building from the street
File:Bruxelles Palais d'Egmont 1304.jpg, The main staircase
See also
*
List of castles and châteaux in Belgium
*
Neoclassical architecture in Belgium
*
History of Brussels
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a region of Belgium comprising 19 municipalities, including the City of Brussels, which is the capital ...
*
Culture of Belgium
The culture of Belgium involves both the aspects shared by all Belgians regardless of the language they speak and the differences between the main cultural communities: the Dutch-speaking Belgians (mostly Flemish) and the French-speaking B ...
*
Belgium in the long nineteenth century
In the history of Belgium, the period from 1789 to 1914, dubbed the "Long nineteenth century, long 19th century" by the historian Eric Hobsbawm, includes the end of Habsburg monarchy, Austrian rule and periods of French First Republic, French ...
Other palaces and castles of the Egmond family:
*
Egmond Castle
*
Egmont Castle in Zottegem
*
Château de Lahamaide
*
Château de Braine
References
Citations
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
External links
*
Egmont Conference Centre
{{Olympic venues fencing
Palaces in Brussels
City of Brussels
Government buildings in Belgium
Protected heritage sites in Brussels
Neoclassical palaces in Belgium
Houses completed in 1560
Venues of the 1920 Summer Olympics
Olympic fencing venues
Arenberg family
House of Egmond
Counts of Egmont