Heritage brochure - Bellevue Hotel

EN

© collection V. Jourdain

bellevue hotel,

“pied-à-terre for royalty and nobility”

T

he story behind the building

This building, better known nowadays as the BELvue Museum by virtue of the function it fulfils today, is erected in 1776 — and opens its doors in the course of the following year — in a part of town that attracts tourists with its many shops (which is hard to imagine these days) and cosmopolite hostelry (the Astoria hotel on Rue Royale currently bears sole witness to this foregone era). The establishment mainly accommodates tourists, mostly English, but not just any tourists: it is after all a luxury hotel with prestigious clients.

The building you see on your right-hand side, on the corner of Place des Palais and Place Royale, corresponds to what remains of the original property. All later annexes did unfortunately not stand the test of time. You can also catch sight of the Borgendael gallery and house of the same name — which get their name from the Borgendael alley situated at the back —, built in 1905 to link the Bellevue and the Royal Palace.

Since the 11th century, the Coudenberg (“Cold Mound” in English) is the place where the central government rules in Brussels.

The newly built castle overlooking the city is meant for the prince of Brabant. In 1731, during the night of February 3, a fire destroys the palace of the Dukes of Brabant. Due to financial shortfalls, the site nicknamed the “Burnt Court” is left almost completely abandoned for forty years before being redeveloped by French architects Barré and Guimard in accordance with the neoclassical precepts of the 18th century: symmetry, regularity, unity (hang the intricate medieval tortuousness!). Once a half-open space, Place Royale now offers a splendid view over the city. As has happened in a large number of cases, the modern city has been built over the ancient part of town. In this particular case you can even see it with your own eyes since the remains of the castle are accessible via the BELvue Museum through an adjoining staircase.

The Bellevue Hotel is erected on the initiative of Philippe De Proft, at the same time wine merchant, horse and carriage contractor and former hotel manager in Brussels. He chooses to build the house on the exact same spot as the main building of the burned-out castle.

De Proft dies practically ruined in 1800.

His son Louis succeeds him as head of the establishment and even acquires the adjacent property (which has since then been demolished) alongside the current Place des Palais in order to build an extension. In 1825, it is his turn to make over the Bellevue to his son Charles, who deceases in 1842. His wife then takes over the business until in 1866 the De Profts get rid of the hotel and sell it to a certain Edouard Dremel, a hotel manager from Aachen.

A T

rchitecture and decor

The building, neoclassical in style just like the rest of Place Royale, favours sobriety and harmonious proportions. It is definitely worth visiting the inside.

ours and detours

Under the De Profts, the hotel is a family-owned business in the general sense of the word: three generations live under the same roof day in day out, and some nephews or nieces reside there occasionally. In conflict with the luxurious intentions but driven entirely by greed, the family allows a tavern on the lower ground floor, the entrance of which is located under a window of the frontage on Rue Royale. In 1815 the hotel provides accommodation for over 25 guests. Ten years later the number tallies up to 36 rooms and from 1853 onwards exceeds 50 rooms.

The 1830 revolution against Dutch rule, which will lead to the Independence of the country, mainly takes place in and around the royal quarter. The Bellevue Hotel and neighbouring buildings are besieged by countless revolutionaries on September 24: gunmen set up at windows and cornices to fight against the Dutch army that has taken refuge in the park. As a consequence, the building ends up riddled with bullet holes and shrapnel. Most tourists had opportunely decided to leave the country, except for a group of mainly English citizens, which had obviously not perceived the clear and present danger of the situation. It finds refuge on the lower ground floor before escaping the building on September 25, escorted but not without risk... On the morning of the 27th the Dutch army abandons the park and the country. Though considerably damaged, the Bellevue is nevertheless quickly restored in its former glory and able to welcome important guests whose stay in Brussels is linked to the flurry of diplomatic activity that preceded the official recognition of Belgium as a nation. Straight off the Bellevue symbolically becomes the impregnable fortress of the Belgian rebels, and this all the more so from 1862 onwards when Edouard Dremel takes over the place and seizes the opportunity to promote his establishment and cleverly turns this historic event, which partly took place in his building, into a source of financial gain (cf.

Engraving on his guide).

So for example, in 1847, two English ladies mention in their travel

stories that the walls of their rooms were riddled with bullet holes which the hotel owner surely had left there on purpose…

The Park of Brussels is a magnet for tourists: the mundane stroll through the park is a very popular pastime. “From noon till one, this walk usually becomes the meeting-place that no self-respecting visitor to Brussels and rich people with any taste can afford to miss.

This colourful mix of nations brights up the place during a few hours a day.”

Beginning 1853, the hotel provides its guests with running water by means of a contract with the City of Brussels for a subscription in perpetuity on the basis of 25 hectolitre every 24 hours.

At a public auction in 1878, Dremel acquires the eldest competitor of Hotel Bellevue, its next-door neighbour, “Hôtel de Flandre”.

When Edouard Dremel passes away in 1898, his heirs found the “SA (plc.) des Hôtels de Belle-Vue et de Flandre”. If on the whole the relationship between the Bellevue and its illustrious neighbour remains cordial — after all, the hotel often accommodates distinguished visitors likely to be invited for a royal audience, there might have been a bone of contention when the hotel owners decide to add terraces to the existing building offering a fabulous and unobstructed view over the King’s gardens, which understandably did not go down well with Leopold II… It is not a coincidence when in September 1902 the Bellevue building is sold to the very same King Leopold II within the context of a complete redevelopment of Place des Palais, leaving the enjoyment of the property to the Dremels until December 31, 1905. Since then the ancient hotel belongs to the Royal Donation. After this date the Dremels continue to run the “Hôtel de Flandre”, which becomes “Hôtel de Belle-Vue et de Flandre”.

During World War I, the “Hôtel de Belle-Vue et de Flandre” is requisitioned by the German authorities. After the war it ceases its hotel activity and the State becomes the owner of the property. It now houses the Constitutional Court.

The youngest daughter of Leopold II, Princess Clementine lives in the Bellevue for one year. Her private residential quarters are on the first floor. For this occasion the entire building is transformed from top to bottom, so much so in fact that it is hard to tell today that the building has ever been a hotel. Between the hotel and the royal palace, the Borgendael gallery and house of the same name are constructed as you can still see them today.

The Duke and Duchess of Brabant, future King Leopold III and Queen Astrid, lived in the Bellevue for four years (1926-30). The prince’s private residential quarters are on the second floor this time. The decoration of these rooms is the one you can still admire today. Before taking on its museum functions, the building is assigned to various one-off operations: warehouse for the many donations from citizens, intended as aid for the victims of the economic crisis, shelter for the Red Cross during the floods that ravaged Belgium in 1953, accommodation for refugees from the Congo in 1960.

From 1977 onwards the Royal Museums of Art and History, the Dynasty Museum, the King Baudouin Memorial and more generic designations such as “Bellevue Museums” succeed one another until in 2005, the ancient hotel becomes the present BELvue Museum dedicated to the history of Belgium and to democracy.

www.visit.brussels copyright: Archives de la Ville de Bruxelles

© collection V. Jourdain