ROYAL SAINT-HUBERT GALLERIES

Description

Essentials about the Royal Saint-Hubert Galleries in brief

Located in the center of Brussels, the Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert (Royal Saint-Hubert Galleries) are undoubtedly one of the most magnificent historic shopping arcades in Europe. The beautiful 19th-century arcaded building houses more than 50 stores, where you’ll find a great mix of fine boutiques for jewelry and fashion, traditional stores for silk and leather goods, and of course Belgian chocolatiers. In addition to shopping, the Royal Saint-Hubert Galleries also offer its visitors a wide range of culinary delights from various bars, cafes and restaurants, as well as a cultural offer of two theaters and a cinema.

The history of the Royal Saint-Hubert Galleries

The idea for the Royal Galleries goes back to the Dutch architect Jean-Pierre Cluysenaar, who had set himself the goal of replacing the narrowly built and poorly lit inner city section of Brussels between the Marché aux Herbes and the Montagne aux Herbes Potagères with a street, thus also attracting higher social classes to the area.

Together with banker Jean-André Demot, Cluysenaar founded the Société des Galeries Saint-Hubert in 1836 to purchase the necessary land. Preparations for the construction took almost ten years, so that construction work could not begin until 1846. The construction of the galleries themselves, on the other hand, took much less time. On June 20, 1847, King Leopold I and his sons opened the Royal Saint-Hubert Galleries.

From the beginning, the arcade attracted numerous luxury stores, giving Brussels the flair of a European metropolis. In its well-lit interior, it was possible to sit in sidewalk cafes even in Brussels’ rainy maritime climate. Within a short time, the Royal Galleries became a popular strolling and meeting place for artists and intellectuals. Incidentally, on March 1, 1896, the Lumière brothers showed their first films outside France here.

The building complex of the Royal Saint-Hubert Galleries

Together with the Passage in Saint Petersburg, opened in 1848, and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan, opened in 1867, the Royal Saint-Hubert Galleries had a great influence on the later design of shopping arcades all over the world.

The 213-meter-long structure consists of a long passage with two upper floors under a slightly curved glass roof in a cast-iron frame. In the passage, pilasters separate the display windows of the individual stores. The entire structure is in the Italianate Renaissance style. The two uniform facades are distantly reminiscent of Giorgio Vasari’s narrow street-like courtyard in Florence’s Uffizi Gallery.

The Royal Saint-Hubert Galleeries are composed of three parts: The two galleries “Galerie de la Reine” (“Gallery of the Queen”) and “Galerie du Roi” (“Gallery of the King”), which are about 100 meters apart, and the small side gallery “Galerie du Prince” (“Gallery of the Prince”). Between the Queen’s Gallery and the King’s Gallery there is a portico. There also the Rue des Bouchers crosses the Royal Galleries.

Shopping, eating and drinking in the Royal Saint-Hubert Galleries

There are more than 50 stores in the three galleries. Unlike many other shopping arcades, you can still find the unusual in the Royal Galleries. In the mall, local jewelers sell one-of-a-kind jewelry and there are still rare trades such as glove, hat or umbrella stores.

The Galerie du Roi features mostly traditional handmade leather goods, classic Belgian chocolates, and jewelry and glass art. The Galerie de la Reine is best known for its designer shoe stores and exquisite interior design stores. In the slightly smaller Galerie des Princes, a number of bookstores and gift stores await visitors.

If you get hungry or thirsty while shopping, you can stop off at one of the many cafés, restaurants or bars. And if you don’t have any plans for the evening, you can catch a show at the Théâtre du Vaudeville or the Théâtre Royal des Galeries, or go to the movies.