Royal Palace of Brussels

Royal Palace of Brussels
Palais royal de Bruxelles (French) Koninklijk Paleis van Brussel (Dutch) Königlicher Palast von Brüssel (German)
The Royal Palace of Brussels seen from the Place des Palais/Paleizenplein
General information
Type	Palace
Architectural style	Neoclassical
Address	Place des Palais / Paleizenplein
Town or city	1000 City of Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region
Country	Belgium
Coordinates	50°50′30″N 04°21′44″E / 50.84167°N 4.36222°E / 50.84167; 4.36222
Current tenants	Belgian royal family
Construction started	1783 (1783)
Completed	1934 (1934)
Client	King Leopold II
Owner	Belgian State
Technical details
Floor area	33,027 m2 (355,500 sq ft)
Design and construction
Architect(s)	1818–1820: Ghislain-Joseph Henry 1820–1825: Charles Vander Straeten 1825–1829: Tilman-François Suys 1868: Alphonse Balat 1903: Henri Maquet 1930–1934: Octave Flanneau
Other designers	François Rude, Jan Fabre
Other information
Public transit access	Train: Brussels-Central Metro: Parc/Park (lines 1 and 5) and Trône/Troon (lines 2 and 6)
Website
Official website
References
[1]

The Royal Palace of Brussels (French: Palais royal de Bruxelles, pronounced [pa.lɛ ʁwa.jal də bʁy.sɛl]; Dutch: Koninklijk Paleis van Brussel [ˈkoːnɪŋklək paːˈlɛis fɑm ˈbrʏsəl];^[a] German: Königlicher Palast von Brüssel) is the official palace of the King and Queen of the Belgians in the centre of the nation's capital, Brussels. However, it is not used as a royal residence, as the king and his family live in the Royal Palace of Laeken in northern Brussels. The website of the Belgian Monarchy describes the function of the Royal Palace as follows:

The Royal Palace is where His Majesty the King exercises his prerogatives as Head of State, grants audiences and deals with affairs of state. Apart from the offices of the King and the Queen, the Royal Palace houses the services of the Grand Marshal of the Court, the King's Head of Cabinet, the Head of the King's Military Household and the Intendant of the King's Civil List. The Royal Palace also includes the State Rooms where large receptions are held, as well as the apartments provided for foreign Heads of State during official visits.

The first nucleus of the present-day building dates from the end of the 18th century. However, the grounds on which the Royal Palace stands were once part of the Coudenberg Palace, a very old palatial complex that dated back to the Middle Ages.^[2] The existing facade was only built after 1900 on the initiative of King Leopold II.

The Royal Palace is situated in front of Brussels Park, from which it is separated by a long square called the Place des Palais/Paleizenplein. 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).

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).