Hôtel de Ville de Bruxelles

Located on the south side of Brussels' Grand-Place, the Town Hall is the city's last surviving medieval building on the square. Built between 1401 and 1455 in the Brabantine Gothic style, its construction unfolded in phases: the original east wing, probably designed by Jacob van Thienen with Jean Bornoy’s collaboration, was soon expanded by a longer west wing. The soaring 96-meter tower, completed by court architect Jan van Ruysbroek, is crowned by an intricate openwork spire topped with a gilded statue of Saint Michael slaying a dragon. Despite its apparent asymmetry, which, according to legend, drove the architect to commit suicide by jumping from the top of the tower, the building’s irregularity more plausibly reflects the complex urban and historical constraints of its creation.