 | |
  Location within Brussels   Place Royale, Brussels (Belgium) | |
| Length | 113 m (371 ft)[1] |
|---|---|
| Width | 77 m (253 ft)[1] |
| Location | City of Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium |
| Quarter | Royal Quarter |
| Coordinates | 50°50′32″N 04°21′34″E / 50.84222°N 4.35944°E |
| Construction | |
| Completion | c. 1782 |
| Other | |
| Designer | Jean-Benoît-Vincent Barré, Gilles-Barnabé Guimard |
The Place Royale (French: [plas ʁwa.jal]; "Royal Square") or Koningsplein (Dutch: [ˈkoːnɪŋksplɛin]; "King's Square") is a historic neoclassical square in the Royal Quarter of Brussels, Belgium. Modelled after the so-called French royal square and built between 1775 and 1782, according to a plan of the architects Jean-Benoît-Vincent Barré and Gilles-Barnabé Guimard,[2] to replace the former Palace of Coudenberg, it was part of an urban project including Brussels Park.[3]
The Place Royale is one of oldest architecturally consistent and monumental public squares, as well as an excellent example of 18th-century urban architecture. Rectangular and symmetrical in shape, it measures 77 by 113 metres (253 by 371 ft),[1] and is entirely paved. In its centre stands an equestrian statue of Godfrey of Bouillon.[4] It is also flanked by the Church of St. James on Coudenberg, as well as some of the main museums in the city.
The Rue de Namur/Naamsestraat enters the square from the south, the Rue de la Régence/Regentschapstraat from the south-west, and the Rue Montagne de la Cour/Hofbergstraat and the Mont des Arts/Kunstberg from the north-west. This area is served by Brussels-Central railway station, as well as by the metro stations Parc/Park (on lines 1 and 5) and Trône/Troon (on lines 2 and 6).
- ^ a b c Mardaga 1994, p. 223.
- ^ Wasseige 1995, p. 15.
- ^ Mardaga 1994, p. 222.
- ^ Mardaga 1994, p. 225.