Palace of Justice (Brussels)
| Palace of Justice | |
|---|---|
 The Palace of Justice in Brussels |
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| Data | |
| place | Brussels |
| builder | Joseph Poelaert |
| Construction year | October 31, 1866 - October 15, 1883 |
| height | approx. 116 m |
| Floor space | 26,000 m² |
| Coordinates | 50 ° 50 '12.2 " N , 4 ° 21' 5.8" E |
The Palace of Justice of Brussels ( French Palais de Justice de Bruxelles , Dutch Justitiepaleis van Brussel ) is the most important court building in Belgium . It was built between 1866 and 1883 according to plans by the architect Joseph Poelaert in the style of eclecticism in the Belgian capital, Brussels , and was the largest palace of justice of the 19th century.
meaning
At this time, numerous monumental palaces for the highest courts of justice were built in Europe, which were conceptually modeled on the model of the Parisian Palais de Justice . The Brussels Palace of Justice played a pioneering role here. Planning began just a few years after Belgium was founded in 1831.
The building should be a symbol for the rule of law of the new state structure. It also symbolizes the greatness of united Belgium and is considered a Belgian national symbol. The financing was generously subsidized by King Leopold II ; Much of the money came from the exploitation of the Congolese colony . The total construction costs are estimated at around 46.5 million gold francs , which corresponds to around 497,500 troy ounces of gold.
The building housed all of Brussels' judicial authorities, including the Belgian Supreme Court. The Palace of Justice shapes the cityscape due to its size and the exposed location on the Galgenberg at the transition between Upper and Lower Town. A dome over a hundred meters high underlines the monumental character. Similar projects were created in Vienna , Munich and Rome . In terms of size and monumentality, however, the Palace of Justice in Brussels remained unsurpassed.
The courthouse now houses the Belgian Court of Cassation .
The structure was proposed by the Belgian government as a candidate for UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008 .
architecture
The rectangular floor plan is 160 meters long and 150 meters wide.
The impressive reception and distribution hall ( Salle des pas perdus ), which is immediately reached when entering the building through the main entrance, is 3,600 square meters in size and 97.5 meters high, including the galleries and staircases. The floor in the center is decorated with a large compass rose mosaic.
The imposing dome rises almost 98 meters above the central tower structure and gives the building a total height of around 116 meters; other sources call it 104 meters or 142 meters. The different information can result from deviations in the measurement methods or the initial level. Due to the hillside location on the hill, the main entrance is more than 20 meters higher than the entrance on the west side of the building. After the dome was set on fire by German occupiers on September 3, 1944, it had to be rebuilt after the war . The shape was slightly changed and the dome has been 2.5 meters higher than before. Up until 2002, there was a 17 meter high radio antenna on the top of the dome.
The building has eight courtyards, 27 courtrooms and 245 other rooms. It is partly supported by an internal steel structure , a technical innovation at the time.
With an area of 26,000 m², the Brussels Palace of Justice is significantly larger than St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, but does not reach the height of the dome.
Anger of local residents
In order for the plans to be implemented, the residents had to vacate the historic Bovendael district of Brussels in 1867 . Many angry citizens blamed the architect Joseph Poelaert personally for this and gave him the hateful name “schieven architek”. The word “schiev” (roughly: shameful, shameful) is said to have been one of the crudest swear words in the Marolles dialect .
Status
The Brussels Palace of Justice is considered ailing and has been known for years as a problem building. The dome tower has been scaffolded for more than 25 years. Numerous halls are no longer usable due to structural damage, several justice departments have left the building and have moved to new buildings. Its preservation as a Belgian national symbol is politically controversial.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Bavarian State Ministry of Justice : 100 Years of Justizpalast Munich: 1897–1997 . Online publication, Munich 2004, p. 7.
- ↑ a b Sebastian Redecke: Despair of the Colossus. Usage concepts for the Palace of Justice in Brussels. In: Bauwelt , issue 17/2011, pp. 10–12.
- ↑ a b c d Unesco World Heritage: Le Palais de Justice de Bruxelles ; Accessed September 20, 2017
- ↑ a b c Markus Scholz: The Palace of Justice of Brussels. Bachelor thesis at the Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen (Art History Institute; grade 1.0), Tübingen 2015, p. 19 u. Note 103.
- ↑ a b c d ( page no longer available , search in web archives: Buildingsagency.be: Justitiepalais ); Accessed March 20, 2017.
- ^ Metropolis Brussels: Palace of Justice ( Memento from April 20, 2016 in the Internet Archive ); Accessed March 20, 2017
- ^ Palace of Justice (Brussels). In: Structurae ; Accessed March 20, 2017
- ↑ Markus Scholz: The Palace of Justice of Brussels. Tübingen 2015, p. 15.
- ↑ Markus Scholz: The Palace of Justice of Brussels. Tübingen 2015, p. 23.
- ↑ Slide architek! ( Memento of February 2, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) (Dutch).
| before | Tallest skyscraper in the world | after that |
| Western Union Telegraph Building | 104 m / 116 m (?) 1883–1894 / 1883–1899 (?) |
Manhattan Life Insurance Building (?) |