Early history The exact date when the first Castle of Coudenberg was built remains a subject of debate. It is generally fixed to the middle of the 11th century, when the
counts of Leuven and Brussels left the bottom of the valley of the river
Senne and built their castle on the heights of the Coudenberg, where there was a smaller risk of floods, and from where they could dominate Brussels. The choice of this site was also undoubtedly explained by its strategic position near urbanised areas, the road leading to
Leuven where their main residence was located, as well as the
Sonian Forest, an important reserve for
game and raw materials. In 1047, the transfer by
Lambert II, Count of Leuven of the
relics of the
martyr Saint
Gudula from Saint Gaugericus' chapel to the church that would later become the
Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula, probably corresponded to the displacement of the seat of county power from the lower to the upper town. Still, the existence of the castle is well attested in the 12th century. With the creation of the
Duchy of Brabant in 1183 by the
Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, the Coudenberg gained in importance and was included within the
first great wall built around the city. The hunting park of the dukes led down the hill to the north, a remnant of which is now
Brussels Park.
Rise in importance after
Bartholomeus de Momper the Elder, late 16th century When, at the start of the 13th century, the Duke of Brabant preferred Brussels to Leuven, the court relocated to the Castle of Coudenberg. With the construction of the
city's second wall following the 1356 occupation by
Louis II, Count of Flanders, the castle was no longer necessary as a primary defence, and it was gradually converted from a military stronghold into a residential palace. From that time on, links were woven between the ducal house and the city; the latter took charge of some embellishment works for the palace that had become by then the dukes' principal seat of government and a leisure home. After 1430, when Brabant was annexed through inheritance by
Burgundy,
Philip the Good ordered the building of new wings for the palace, further embellishments to the park, and the building of the , a gigantic hall for royal receptions and other
pageantry. The first regular meetings of the
States General, composed of delegates from the middle class, clergy and nobility of the
Burgundian Netherlands, were held there in 1465. It was in this room that, in 1515,
Duchess Margaret of Austria formally relinquished her
regency over the
Habsburg Netherlands to
Charles of Habsburg. It was also in this same room that, in 1555, Charles V abdicated in favour of his son, King
Philip II of Spain. During his reign, Charles V ordered the creation of a large market square, known as the /, in front of the palace. In the palace itself, he instructed the building of galleries and rooms in
Renaissance style and the construction of the
Grand Chapel in
late Gothic style, in memory of his parents,
Philip the Handsome and
Joanna of Castile. In the 17th century, under their reign as the sovereigns of the
Spanish Netherlands, the Archdukes
Albert VII and
Isabella established their court on the Coudenberg. The archdukes restored the façade of the palace, transformed the buildings and refitted the apartments and gardens. For the protection of the Archduchess, as she made her way to her devotions in the cathedral (this being the height of the
Wars of Religion), the street that skirts the and the chapel was extended almost as far as the
Church of St. Michael and St. Gudula (now Brussels' cathedral), and renamed the / ("Isabella Street"). As art lovers, the archdukes brought to their court the best artists of the time,
Jan Brueghel the Elder and
Peter Paul Rubens among them, to decorate the palace with their works. File:The Royal Palace in Brussels, c. 1627.jpg|
The Royal Palace in Brussels,
Peter Brueghel the Younger and
Sebastian Vrancx, File:Gezicht op Hof van Brussel - Cour de Brusselles - Koudenberg (Atlas van Loon).jpg|The Palace of Coudenberg depicted in the
Atlas van Loon, 1649 File:Palais du Coudenberg 1659.jpg|
The palace and gardens of Coudenberg in 1659, L. Vorsterman the Younger File:Martin-coudenberg-1726.jpg|
View of the Coudenberg Palace in Brussels,
Andreas Martin, 1726
Fire and destruction This impressive complex suffered several fires over the centuries. In 1679, a fire destroyed part of the roof. On the night of 3 February 1731, a fire broke out in the kitchens and quickly engulfed the entire palace. The freezing conditions made it difficult to deliver any water and the means of firefighting were very insufficient. In the morning, the palace was in ruins with many of the works of art destroyed along with the governmental archives. Only the court chapel and the walls of the were somewhat spared. After the fire, the court moved to the Palace of
Orange-Nassau, on the site of today's
Palace of Charles of Lorraine, which from then on was known as the "New Court". Funds were not available for rebuilding, so for more than forty years, the old palace remained in a state of ruin, known as the ("Burnt Court"). Several projects for the redevelopment of this space were proposed, including the reconstruction of a palace, which did not go beyond the stage of sketches, for lack of money. In 1769, the idea germinated to clear and level the ruins of the Place des Bailles and to convert it into an esplanade intended for military parades. The plan was on the verge of completion in 1772, when another project rendered it obsolete. It was only in 1774 that
Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine,
Governor of the Austrian Netherlands, proposed replacing the ruins with a monumental
royal square inspired by French models such as the
Place Stanislas in
Nancy (1755) and the
Place Royale in
Reims (1759), of which it is almost an exact replica. The project was approved that same year by Empress
Maria Theresa, who authorised the demolition. The first draft of the project, designed by the engineers-architects Louis-Joseph Baudour and had planned to keep the
Gothic chapel of the former palace, which had been spared by the fire. Due to the architectural clash with the surrounding neoclassical buildings, however, it was pulled down. File:Auwerkerken coudenberg.jpg|
The Fire of 1679 in the Coudenberg Palace by
Gillis van Auwerkercken File:Anoniem, Vue dans la cour - le Palais de Brusselle détruit par le feu le 3 février 1731, 46,7 x 63 cm (KBR).jpg|View of the palace's courtyard after the fire on 3 February 1731 File:Anoniem, Veue du cote du parc du Palais de Brusselle detruit par le feu le 3 fevrier 1731, 46,8 x 62,3 cm (KBR).jpg|View of the ruins from the park ==Present day==