Editing Grand-Place (section)

===Early history===
[[File:Bruxelles à travers les âges (1884) (14800342613).jpg|thumb|Schematic map of medieval Brussels; north is roughly below.<br />The ''[[Brussels City Museum|Bread House]]'' ({{lang|fr|Marché au pain}}) lies along the ''Causeway'' ({{lang|odt|Steenwegh}}) near [[Saint Nicholas Church, Brussels|St. Nicholas' Church]] and the [[Brussels Town Hall|Town Hall]] ({{lang|fr|Hôtel de Ville}}).<ref name="map" />]]

In the 10th century, [[Charles, Duke of Lower Lorraine]], constructed a fort on [[Saint-Géry Island]], the furthest inland point at which the river [[Zenne|Senne]] was still navigable. The installation of a fort at this point marks the origin of what would become Brussels. By the end of the 11th century, an open-air marketplace was set up on a dried-up marsh near the fort that was surrounded by sandbanks.{{sfn|Mardaga|1993|p=120}}{{sfn|Hennaut|2000|p=2–5}} A document from 1174 mentions this lower market ({{langx|la|forum inferius|link=no}}) not far from the port ({{langx|la|portus|link=no}}) on the Senne.{{sfn|Hennaut|2000|p=2–5}} It was called the {{lang|odt|Nedermerckt}} (meaning "Lower Market" in [[Old Dutch]]){{sfn|Mardaga|1993|p=120}} and likely grew around the same time as Brussels' commercial development.{{sfn|Hennaut|2000|p=2–5}} It was also well situated near [[Saint Nicholas Church, Brussels|St. Nicholas' Church]] and along the ''Causeway'' ({{langx|odt|Steenwegh|link=no}}),<ref name="map">Map of Brussels in the 11th and 14th centuries from ''Bruxelles à travers les âges'' (Louis, Henri and Paul Hymans, 1884), p. 7</ref> an important trade route between the prosperous regions of the [[Rhineland]] (in modern-day Germany) and the [[County of Flanders]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Brasserie Le Roy d'Espagne|url=https://roydespagne.be/en/history.php|access-date=2021-11-07|website=roydespagne.be|language=EN}}</ref>

At the beginning of the 13th century, three covered markets were built on the northern edge of the Grand-Place; a meat market, a bread market, and a cloth market.{{sfn|Mardaga|1993|p=120}}{{sfn|Hennaut|2000|p=2–5}} These buildings, which belonged to the [[Duke of Brabant]],{{sfn|Hennaut|2000|p=2–5}} allowed the wares to be showcased even in bad weather, but also allowed the Dukes to keep track of the storage and sale of goods, in order to collect taxes. Other buildings, largely constructed of [[Thatching|thatch]] and [[timber]], with some made of stone ({{langx|odt|steenen|link=no}}), enclosed the Grand-Place.{{sfn|Mardaga|1993|p=120}}{{sfn|Hennaut|2000|p=2–5}}{{sfn|De Vries|2003|p=28}}{{sfn|State|2004|p=129–130}} Although none of these {{lang|nl|steenen}} remain, their names live on in nearby streets, such as the ''Plattesteen'', the ''Cantersteen'', or the {{lang|fr|Rue des Pierres|italic=no}}/{{lang|nl|Steenstraat|italic=no}}.{{sfn|De Vries|2003|p=28}}{{sfn|De Vries|2003|p=64}} In the middle of the market square stood a primitive public fountain. In 1302, it was replaced by a large stone fountain with eight water jets and eight basins, directly in front of the bread market.{{sfn|Mardaga|1993|p=123}}{{sfn|Heymans|2011|p=10}}