THE SABLON

Description

Essentials about the Sablon in brief

The Sablon is one of the most beautiful and popular squares in Brussels. Mainly because of its numerous antique shops and chocolate boutiques, cafes and restaurants, the square enjoys great popularity among locals and tourists alike. The Sablon district is one of the most popular neighborhoods in Brussels for strolling, shopping and dining. Especially for antique fans, the Sablon is a true Mecca. In addition to the neighborhood’s many antique stores, Belgium’s most famous antique market is held on the Sablon every weekend.

The history of the Sablon

The Sablon was originally located outside the first city fortifications of Brussels. At that time, the area was a wetland consisting of meadows and sand. The name “Sablon” (from fr. “Sable” for “sand”) still reminds us of its origin. In the 13th century, St. John’s Hospital used the area as a cemetery.

In 1304, the hospital sold the land to the Crossbowmen’s Guild, which had a small Lady Chapel built here in 1318. In 1348, a woman brought a figure of the Virgin Mary to the chapel, to which miraculous powers were attributed. The chapel quickly became a center of attraction for pilgrims.

In the 15th century, the area around the Lady Chapel began to develop. As a result, the chapel was expanded into the larger and more beautiful Église Notre-Dame au Sablon (Church of Our Blessed Lady of the Sablon), which can still be admired today. In the 16th century, nobles began to settle near the Sablon. By the 17th century, the area around the Sablon developed into the most aristocratic and prosperous area of Brussels. The preserved Palais Egmont gives an impression of how the area must have once looked.

In the 19th century, the area around the Sablon was transformed. Rue de la Régence was created as a new traffic axis between the Royal Palace and the new Palace of Justice. The new main street was routed around St. Mary’s Church, but resulted in the demolition of all neighboring buildings. Many other buildings on the Sablon were rebuilt and renovated in the 19th century.

During the 19th century, the Sablon district changed from a once aristocratic neighborhood to a residential and working area of the middle and lower classes with many workshops and warehouses. Beginning in the 1960s, however, the character of the neighborhood changed again as antique dealers increasingly settled around the square. In the decades that followed, the area around the Sablon once again became one of the most popular residential areas in Brussels and is now accordingly home to people from the upper middle and upper classes.

The location and architecture of the Sablon

The Sablon is divided by the Église Notre-Dame au Sablon into the Grand Sablon and the Petit Sablon. The Grand Sablon is located in the northwest of the church, the Petit Sablon is located in the southeast. The Grand Sablon has the shape of an elongated triangle, which is about 130 meters long and about 50 meters wide at its base. In Brussels, when people talk about the “Sablon”, they mean the Grand Sablon. Since 1754, the Minerva Fountain has been located in the center of the Grand Sablon, a gift from the British nobleman Thomas Bruce the Second, Earl of Ailesbury, to the people of Brussels in gratitude for their hospitality. Unlike the Grand Sablon, the Petit Sablon is a roughly rectangular garden with trees, hedges, flowers and a number of statues.

The Sablon today

Nowadays, the Sablon enjoys great popularity among locals and tourists alike, mainly because of its antique shops and chocolate boutiques, cafes and restaurants. The Sablon district is one of the most popular neighborhoods in Brussels for strolling, shopping and dining.

Especially for antique fans, the Sablon is a true Mecca. The concentration of antique stores is uniquely high, and on weekends the square hosts Belgium’s most famous antiques market. In the tents of the dealers you can marvel at all kinds of historical objects and buy them at auction.