Editing Grand-Place (section)

===Town Hall===
{{Main|Brussels Town Hall}}
[[File:Brussels, townhall oeg2043-00090 foto3 2015-06-07 08.38.jpg|left|thumb|<!-- Brighter image, fewer people -->[[Brussels Town Hall|Brussels' Town Hall]] stands {{convert|96|m|ft}} tall and is capped by a {{convert|2.7|m|ft}} statue of [[Michael (archangel)|Saint Michael]] slaying a demon.]]

The [[Brussels Town Hall|Town Hall]] ({{langx|fr|Hôtel de Ville|link=no}}, {{langx|nl|Stadhuis|link=no}}) is the central edifice on the Grand-Place. It was erected in stages, between 1401 and 1455, on the south side of the square, transforming it into the seat of municipal power. It is also the square's only remaining [[Medieval architecture|medieval building]].{{sfn|State|2004|p=147}} The Town Hall not only housed the city's magistrate, but also, until 1795, the [[States of Brabant]]; the representation of the three estates ([[nobility]], [[clergy]] and [[commoner]]s) to the court of the [[Duke of Brabant]]. In 1830, the provisional government operated from there during the [[Belgian Revolution]].

The oldest part of the present building is its east wing (to the left when facing the front). This wing, together with a shorter tower, was built between 1401 and 1421. The architect and designer is probably [[Jacob van Thienen]]  with whom [[Jean Bornoy]] collaborated.{{sfn|Hennaut|2000|p=5–9}} The young Duke [[Charles the Bold]] laid the first stone of the west wing in 1444.{{sfn|Hennaut|2000|p=5–9}} The architect of this part of the building is unknown. Historians think that it could be William (Willem) de Voghel who was the architect of the [[City of Brussels]] in 1452, and who was also, at that time, the designer of the {{lang|la|Aula Magna}}; the great hall at the [[Coudenberg|Palace of Coudenberg]].{{sfn|Mardaga|1993|p=126}}

The façade is decorated with numerous statues representing the local nobility (such as the [[Dukes of Brabant family tree|Dukes and Duchesses of Brabant]] and [[knight]]s of the [[Seven Noble Houses of Brussels|Noble Houses of Brussels]]), [[saint]]s, and [[allegory|allegorical]] figures. The present sculptures are mainly 19th- and 20th-century reproductions or creations; the original 15th-century ones are kept in the [[Brussels City Museum]] in the ''King's House'' or ''Bread House'' building across the Grand-Place.{{sfn|Mardaga|1993|p=128–133}}

The {{convert|96|m|ft|adj=mid|-high}} tower in [[Brabantine Gothic]] style is the work of [[Jan van Ruysbroek (architect)|Jan van Ruysbroek]], the court architect of [[Philip III, Duke of Burgundy|Philip the Good]].{{sfn|Hennaut|2000|p=5–9}}{{sfn|De Vries|2003|p=32}} Above the roof of the Town Hall, the square tower body narrows to a lavishly [[pinnacle]]d octagonal openwork. At its summit stands a {{convert|2.7|m|ft|0|adj=mid|-tall}}{{efn|name=fn3}} gilt metal statue of [[Michael (archangel)|Saint Michael]], the [[patron saint]] of the City of Brussels, slaying a dragon or demon.{{sfn|Hennaut|2000|p=5–9}}{{sfn|Heymans|2011|p=10}} This statue is a work by Michel de Martin Van Rode, and was placed on the tower in 1454 or 1455.{{sfn|Mardaga|1993|p=126}}{{sfn|Hennaut|2000|p=5–9}}{{sfn|Heymans|2011|p=10}} It was removed in the 1990s and replaced by a copy. The original is also in the Brussels City Museum.

The Town Hall is asymmetrical, since the tower is not exactly in the middle of the building and the left part and the right part are not identical (although they seem so at first sight). According to a legend, the architect of the building, upon discovering this "error", leapt to his death from the tower.{{sfn|De Vries|2003|p=30}} More likely, the asymmetry of the Town Hall was an accepted consequence of the scattered construction history and space constraints.

After various waves of restoration, the interior of the Town Hall has become dominated by [[Gothic Revival architecture|neo-Gothic]]: the Maximilian Room, the [[States of Brabant]] Room and their [[antechamber]] with [[Brussels tapestry|tapestries]] depicting the life of [[Clovis I|Clovis]],{{sfn|Crick-Kuntziger|1944}} the splendid Municipal Council Room, the likewise richly furnished ballroom and the Wedding Room (formerly the courtroom).{{sfn|Mardaga|1993|p=134}}