Palace of the Nation (Brussels)

The Palace of the Nation in Brussels, Belgium

The Palace of the Nation ( Dutch Paleis der Natie , French Palais de la Nation ) in the Belgian capital Brussels is the seat of the Belgian federal parliament . Both chambers, the Belgian Federal Senate and the Belgian Federal Chamber of Deputies , meet here.

history

The building, built in the classical style, was planned at the time of Empress Maria Theresa as the seat of the Sovereign Council of Brabant . The foundation stone was laid in 1779. The builder of the building, which was completed in 1783, was the French architect Gilles-Barnabé Guimard . At around the same time, the Warandepark was created, the north entrance of which is directly opposite the main entrance of the parliament building. Since the Brabant Council originally met here, the street in front of the building was named Brabantstraat . This street was later renamed Rue de la Loi or Wetstraat ("Law Street ").

In the Kingdom of the United Netherlands , from 1815 to 1831, the building served as the seat of the General Assembly of Estates (Staten-Generaal)

Trivia

The street in which the Palace of the Nation is located, Wetstraat (nld.) Rue de la Loi (French), is often used as a metonym in the Belgian media to denote parliament, the seat of government or, without further ado, the government. The exact address Wetstraat 16 (nld.) Or Rue de la Loi 16 (French) in turn corresponds to the Council of Ministers or the Prime Minister.

Coordinates: 50 ° 50 ′ 48 ″  N , 4 ° 21 ′ 53 ″  E