The museum in the King’s House was once the covered bread market and later a prison. (Although far more elaborate than any prison I’ve ever seen!) I read that the Counts Egmont and Horne spent their last night in this jail before execution in the Grand Place on June 5th 1568. Now who, you might ask, are the Counts Egmont and Horne? A quick online investigation told me that although they were Catholic they protested against the persecution of Protestants during the Spanish rule of most of Europe (including Belgium). They also helped to remove a rather nasty fellow by the name of Cardinal Granvelle. Evidently a King’s representative by the name of Alba didn’t like the fact that Egmont and Horne weren’t fully on board with anything and everything the Spanish King wanted, so when he came to Brussels (where Egmont and Horne lived) he ordered them arrested and, to prove a point, beheaded. Their deaths caused quite a stir and began the rebellion against Spanish rule in what was then part of the Netherlands. Hmmm…lots of angst in that. There’s definitely a story there.
I also learned the Mayor of Brussels, Charles Buls, in 1889 (the gentleman depicted in bronze next to me in the picture) commissioned the Museum of the history of Brussels to be housed in the King’s House, where it’s been ever since. Nowadays it holds wonderful artwork and sculptures, and a gorgeous stairway that’s overlooked by a spectacular stained glass window.
We also visited the Royal Military Museum, in the Parc du Cinquantenair (just behind and to the left of the arc pictured below).
There I took an audio tour, in English of course, telling me about various weaponry and trench conditions during the First World War. They had anti-aircraft machinery (pictured below), u-boat missiles, gas masks, battle drums and too much more to account for here. It was a marvelous variety of information as well as quite a bit about the Second World War. But I kept to my First World War research, since there was so much I needed to see in a limited amount of time.
Anti-aircraft machinery used during WWI could shoot upward as far as 5,000 meters, which is over 16,000 feet. I thought it might be important in my book because at one point my hero is flown into enemy territory and the aircraft I researched flew at about 10,000 feet. So he would’ve been within range of this sort of machinery.
We finished the day with another delicious meal at a street-side café. I have to admit that before we left the US I was a little apprehensive about the food overseas. A number of years ago I visited Germany and Great Britain and to be perfectly honest I think I lost weight because the food just wasn’t to my taste. I had no such trouble in Belgium and France. Even if I would’ve had trouble with restaurant food, there were always the bakeries. Who could go wrong with a French pastry?
But all of the food was terrific. I’m just glad we walked as much as we did, or I might have brought home a little more of Europe than I intended.
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