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VIEWS FROM A TRIP AROUND THE WORLD
#32 - BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
Size: 3" x 5"
Copyrighted: 1891
Lithographer: Joseph P. Knapp
  
Illustrations: The King's Palace; A Country Girl; An Iron Founder; Hotel de Ville
| Reverse - Text |
Left section:
GRIND
YOUR COFFEE AT HOME
Right section: |
| BRUSSELS, BELGIUM. |
| Brussels, the Capital of
Belgium and Province of S.
Brabant, is on the small River
Senne, about 50 miles from the
sea, in the midst of a beautiful
and fertile country. The city is
built partly on the side of a
hill and partly on a plain, some
of the streets so steep as to be
ascended by carriages with
difficulty. The city may be
considered as consisting of two
parts, each presenting
characteristics peculiar to
itself; the upper town situated
on the brow of a hill, is the
newest and most fashionable part,
containing the residences chiefly
of the wealthy; the King's
palace, public offices, large
hotels, and mansions of the
foreign ministers are here. It is
much healthier than the lower
town. But the latter, with its
handsome old buildings, once
occupied by the nobility, now
used for business purposes, is
very picturesque. French is
spoken in the newer town, Flemish
in the older one, and in one
quarter the Walloon dialect is
spoken. There are also many
English residents, who live there
for the sake of economy. |
| The
walls which formerly surrounded
Brussels have given place to
boulevards shaded by lines of
trees extending several miles.
The Allée Verte, a double avenue
along the Scheldt canal, forms a
splendid promenade and leads
towards the Palace of Lacken, the
suburban residence of the royal
family. The Place Royal has a
colossal monument of Godfrey of
Bouillon, the hero of Tasso's
Jerusalem Delivered. The Hotel de
Ville is a splendid Gothic
structure erected in the
beginning of the fifteenth
century, with a pyramidal tower,
364 feet high, surmounted by a
statue of St. Michael, the patron
saint of Brussels. The spire of
the Hotel de Ville is the most
beautiful in Belgium. The Palais
de Justice--opened in 1883--is a
magnificent building, the cost of
its erection being two million
pounds. |
| Brussels
is mentioned in the old
chronicles as early as the eighth
century, and a church is known to
have existed here in 966. |
| Population, 477,398. |
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