Heritage brochure - The halles Saint-Géry

EN

the halles saint-gĂŠry,

evidence of daily life and commercial activities

O

rigin and development

The building of the Halles Saint-Géry (Sint-Gorikshallen in Dutch) that you see, dates back to the end of the 19th century, as attested by the anchors at the four corners of the building (referring to the year 1881). But what is exactly the story behind the building?

You are here in the cradle of Brussels’ legend and first economic activity, but both stories have but little in common. At least as soon as the 11th century, a chapel dedicated to Saint-Géry (Saint Gauricus), patron saint of the parish and former bishop of Cambrai, is erected to reinforce the small core community that has settled in the area. Then, unfortunately, the legend and historical uncertainty step in and your guess is as good as ours!

However, legend has it that the relics of Saint-Gudule were kept in this place of worship, before being taken in the upper part of town to the church that still partly bears her name today. Similarly, the presence of a “castrum” on the site, which has long been considered an established fact and still mentioned today on the plaque affixed to the building (we refer to the small façade facing the centre of town), seems to be a matter of conjecture — indeed, no archaeological evidence has ever been unearthed. Even if it is hard to form a mental picture, you should visualize in these medieval times a river, the Senne, dotted with communal mills — up to four around what might be referred to, from the second half of the 12th century onwards, as the Grand Isle, the result of the development in and along the river —, in other words, ducal properties to which all inhabitants who needed it, had to resort to... against payment. This particular context obviously prompts buoyant economic activity (brewers, fullers, dyers, etc.)

In the 16th century, the simple chapel is elevated to the rank of parish church and is converted into a larger building in flamboyant

gothic style.

During the French Revolution and the subsequent regime of enemy occupation, the gothic building and its adjacent cemetery will be destroyed at the end of the 18th century (1796). On the site, the City builds a public square and erects, replacing an older specimen, a pyramidal fountain (dated 1767) which comes from the main courtyard of the Grimbergen Abbey. The square, initially called Place de la Fontaine, first welcomes a market selling “raw and washed fabrics, linen, raw and washed yarn”. From 1813 onwards, there is talk of a project to build

a square market hall, but in the end, the idea goes unheeded. Floods were common, even before the Senne was overarched in Brussels. In 1820, the river bursts its banks and causes one of the worst floods the town has ever known. The exceptional rise in the water of the Senne is due to a sudden thaw after a long period of frost. After having warned the citizens of Brussels by several cannon shots, as was customary at the time, the floodgates upstream from the city are opened and the water gushes with exceptional fury towards the town, raising concern that it might even reach the higher-located Grand-Place…

Place Saint-Géry is completely swamped by the flooding river. The place gradually pursues its initial vocation and welcomes a fruit market and later, in 1867, a market providing meat, milk, eggs, cheese and other dairy products, which was moved from the Récollets market (or “Butter market”), a building destroyed in 1869 to make room for Brussels’ new Stock Exchange (Bourse). At first, commercial activities take place in a temporary shed where all goods are sold, with the exception of meat put up for sale outdoors on market stalls provided by the municipal authorities. Soon, the extent of the market urges the town councillors to build a permanent infrastructure.

These town councillors carry on with huge sanitation and beautification schemes for the city — undertaking extensive vaulting of the Senne (the works eind in 1871) and building a series of grand central boulevards —, often to the detriment of the poorest. Under these circumstances, and also considering the increasing scale of the market activities, the construction of the Halles Saint-Géry, brainchild of architect Adolphe Vanderheggen, kicks off in 1880 and is completed two years later. While the work is underway, the market is housed in a shed, hastily put together on a plot of land bordering the future Rue Van Praet. The first inauguration, of the ground floor constructed to accommodate butchers, takes place in August 1882.

“The whole neighbourhood was celebrating, flags were hanging in windows. There were garlands of foliage, intertwined with flags bearing the national colours, all around the building. An orchestrion set up in the gallery on the first floor livened up the scene with its elegant and swirly waltz rhythms much to the delight of all visitors.”

However, with the launch of the butter and eggs market only a month later, it is already clear that the market hall is far too small. Hence, “this scene of butter merchants displaying and selling their goods in front of houses and hampering road traffic to a certain degree”.

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rchitecture and decor

The building, eclectic in style — prevailing in the second half of the 19th century — is a notable example of the architecture of covered markets at the time, combining the Flemish neo-renaissance style on the exterior and a steel girder frame inside. If indeed the exterior architecture is mainly inspired by the Flemish renaissance — façades alternating red brick and blue stone, and crow-stepped gables are the most notable properties —, the interior, on the contrary, uses new materials in marked contrast with the masonry by its lightness: steel frame, zinc covering, glass roofing.

The construction, rectangular in shape, measures 42m by 21.75m. As if held aloft, it is separated from the ground by a stone segment running alongside the building.

Note that the angles of the building are cut off to make room for the access doors facing the streets leading to Place Saint-Géry. When you look at the upper span of the two smaller façades, you will notice the representation of Saint-Michael, patron saint of Brussels, defeating the devil. It would come as no surprise if architect Vanderheggen would have been influenced in his work by the style of the Central Halls, erected six years earlier by Léon Suys and Edmond Legraive, and demolished in 1956 to be replaced by the “Parking 58”.

In this moist environment, the architect plans a gutter system under the tiled pavement of the ground floor, to preserve the building from rising damp. In the basement, a large room serves as cold room, surrounded by ventilated cellars. The interior, incorporating the fountain that has stood in the middle of the square for over 80 years, houses 96 stalls, all designed by the same architect Vanderheggen, and spread along two perpendicular axes which meet at the fountain obelisk. On the first floor, the building is decked out with a gallery which does not provide any shops. However there are 42 benches (which were later removed). Inside the shops, all the necessary hardware is included: pegboard and hooks, marble stalls, wooden cabinets, etc.

T © Collection Belfius Banque-Académie royale de Belgique © ARB-SPRB Verzameling Belfius Bank-Académie royale de Belgique © ARB-GOB avec la collaboration du CDAATL

ours and detours

It is reported that, during the legendary transfer of Saint-Gudule’s relics from the Saint-Géry Chapel to the Saint-Michael and Saint-Gudule church, a handful of women virulently protest against the departure of the saint.

Armed with reed sticks taken from the banks of the Senne, they stir up trouble amidst the procession. They later decide to decorate their houses with reed, a tradition which will be perpetuated, on 11 August every year — i.e. Saint-Gauricus’ Day —, until the 18th century. Sometimes underwear even hanged on the sticks to symbolically salute the courage of these women in the Saint-Géry neighbourhood...

During the First World War, the market is used to supply food to the people of Brussels and suburbs. “Every day, from 9 in the morning until 7 in the evening, the National Food Committee sells chicken in the Halles Saint-Géry to residents from Brussels and suburbs. A queue of several hundreds of people, sometimes getting as far Boulevard Anspach, requires the presence of several policemen, while four members of staff, also assisted by a policeman, supervise the four access doors of the Saint-Géry market hall, to prevent recalcitrant customers from getting in without queuing.” Police report of 24 June 1917, Brussels Archives At the end of 1960’s, an insane project plans the complete refurbishment of the place: it would not only entail the outright destruction of the market hall, but also of the nearby Auberge du Lion — a former coaching inn dating back to the 17th century, the oldest remnant of the neighbourhood, known for its “Salle du Lion d’Or” where a lot of political gatherings took place in the beginning of the 20th century — and of the ancient Riches Claires convent. Only the listed church, bearing the same name, would be kept intact. The project would make room for a gas station topped by a 20-floor building, including hotel, shopping centre and parking, all of this in the name of the sacrosanct property speculation and a new architectural trend seeking to erase all traces of the past... Luckily, the project will never get off the ground! Better still, since 21 January 1987, the ancient market hall is one of the many listed buildings in the Brussels-Capital Region. The renovation of the building, started at the beginning of 1988 and completed in June 1989, will include some demolitions, essentially inside (e.g. the butchers’ stalls). After the Second World War, the market progressively loses its traders until it eventually closes its doors on 28 February 1977. Alongside the Dansaert district, the entire Saint-Géry neighbourhood has since the 90’s grown into one of the most popular areas of town, with its many trendy cafés and restaurants.

Since 1999, the Halles Saint-Géry house an information and exhibition centre dedicated to Brussels’ heritage and its inhabitants’ quality of life, under the aegis of the Brussels-Capital Region. During the day and in the evening there is a friendly atmosphere: you can have a meal and a drink, or play cards or chess.

www.visit.brussels copyright: Archives de la Ville de Bruxelles