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Guided tours (40 min) in English April-Sept on Tues & Wed at 3.15pm & Sun at 12.15pm; Oct-March on Tues & Wed at 3.15pm; ?2.50. Metro: Bourse . From the south side of the Grand-Place, the newly scrubbed and polished Hotel de Ville dominates the proceedings, its 96-metre spire soaring high above two long series of robust windows, whose straight lines are mitigated by fancy tracery, striking gargoyles, solid statuettes and an arcaded gallery. The town hall dates from the beginning of the fifteenth century when the town council decided to build itself a mansion that adequately reflected its wealth and power. The first part to be completed was the east wing - and the original entrance is marked by the twin lions of the Lion Staircase, though the animals were only added in 1770. Work started on the west wing in 1444 and continued until 1480. Despite the gap, the wings are of very similar style, and you have to look hard to notice that the later wing is slightly shorter than its neighbour, allegedly at the insistence of Charles the Bold who - for some unknown reason - refused to have the adjacent rue de la Tete d'Or narrowed. The niches were left empty and the statues you see now - which represent leading figures from the city's past - are modern, part of a heavy-handed nineteenth-century refurbishment. By any standard, the tower of the Hotel de Ville is quite extraordinary, its remarkably slender appearance the work of Jan van Ruysbroeck, the leading spire specialist of the day, who also played a leading role in the building of the cathedral and SS. Pierre et Guidon in Anderlecht. Ruysbroeck had the lower section built square to support the weight above, choosing a design that blended seamlessly with the elaborately carved facade on either side - or almost: look carefully and you'll see that the main entrance is slightly out of kilter. Ruysbroeck used the old belfry porch as the base for the new tower, hence the misalignment, a deliberate decision and not a miscalculation prompting the architect's suicide, as legend would have it. Above the cornice protrudes an octagonal extension where the basic design of narrow windows flanked by pencil-thin columns and pinnacles is repeated up as far as the pyramid-shaped spire , a delicate affair surmounted by a gilded figure of St Michael , protector of Christians in general and of soldiers in particular. The tower is off-limits and guided tours are confined to a string of lavish official rooms used for receptions and town council meetings. The most dazzling of these is the sixteenth-century Council Chamber , decorated with gilt moulding, faded tapestries and an oak floor inlaid with ebony. The entrance chamber at the top of the first flight of stairs is also of interest for its assortment of royal portraits. The Empress Maria Theresa of Austria is pictured side-saddle with her little feet (of which she was inordinately proud) poking out from her fancy lacy dress, while a gallant-looking Charles II sits astride his handsome steed, courtesy of Jan van Orley. This must have stretched Orley's imagination to the limit: Charles, the last of the Spanish Habsburgs, was - according to the historian J. H. Elliott - "a rachitic and feeble-minded weakling, the last stunted sprig of a degenerate line". Tours begin at the reception desk off the interior quadrangle; be prepared for the guides' overly reverential script.
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