Charles V took his seat, reviewed his years of government and remembered everyone who had been in that same room, where forty years before, in 1515, his emancipation was announced and his public life began. Afterwards, he decided to hand over his kingdom to his son Philip, and the Empire to his brother Ferdinand.
Thus Charles V abdicated in the autumn of 1555, before leaving for his retirement in the monastery of Yuste. That room in which the Habsburg sovereign both assumed and renounced power was the Aula Magna of the disappeared Coudenberg palace, in the current heart of Brussels.
The solemnity of these two moments in the monarch's career highlights the importance of his residence, around which what is today the capital of the European Union would swirl. Thanks to its centrality on the continent, the old Belgian palace served as the setting for numerous events. From him he captained, successively, the duchy of Brabant, Burgundy and the Netherlands under the rule of the Austrians.
This primacy, which began in the 12th century, ended abruptly one winter night in the 18th century, when a fire consumed most of the complex. Submerged for a quarter of a millennium in almost absolute oblivion, their remains began to be rescued a few years ago. In the last quarter of a century, patient excavation, restoration and conservation works have allowed us to recover portions of this old nucleus of power that currently constitutes the largest archaeological site in the capital of Belgium.
The visitable part of the palace is located in the basement of the center of Brussels, under the Royal Square and its surroundings. However, the name Coudenberg refers to an inhospitable elevation. It means “cold hill”, alluding to a promontory about forty meters high that, around 1120, was crowned by a fortified mansion, according to the remains found.
The counts of Leuven, in charge of the Duchy of Brabant (between the present-day Netherlands and Belgium) since the end of the 12th century, built it with a dual purpose. On the one hand, to reduce the authority of the neighboring castle of the lord of Brussels, vassal of the counts, just when they began to make the city one of their capitals, and, on the other, to keep an eye on the valley of the Senne River, at their feet. . The strategic character of the building was confirmed a century later, when it was included in the first walled perimeter of the metropolis, and, again, in the second half of the 14th century, when it was placed within the second, larger circle.
The erection of this last wall reduced the defensive significance of the ducal enclosure. That is why Joan of Brabant, the owner of the house at that time, began to transform the military complex into a princely residence. She ordered the erection, for example, of a chapel and a reception hall. Upon her death, without issue, the duchy of Brabant was absorbed by that of Burgundy, with which she shared parental ties.
Burgundy was one of the most powerful states in medieval Europe, a hinge between what is now France and Germany. Philip the Good, his head in the mid-15th century, made Brussels his main seat, which led to the enlargement of the old fortress on the hill. The duke ordered to add wings to the central block, redesign the entrance, improve the gardens and, his most significant contribution, build a majestic ceremonial hall.
It was in this Aula Magna where the first assembly of the States General (nobility, clergy and bourgeoisie) of the Burgundian Netherlands was held. Already in the following century, the assumption and resignation of power of Charles V, born in nearby Ghent and, among other titles, Duke of Burgundy, took place there.
The sovereign further increased the relevance of the palace with his frequent presence and splendid works, such as a plaza in front of the main building, galleries and rooms in Renaissance style and, above all, a Gothic chapel that, inspired by the Parisian Sainte Chapelle, aroused admiration throughout the continent. The treasure of the order of the Golden Fleece was kept there for three centuries.
Coudenberg became the seat of the governor-general of the Habsburg Netherlands since the emperor's sister, Mary of Austria, assumed this position, born in the imposing complex.
The 16th century was Coudenberg's golden century. This was demonstrated by luxurious official receptions, balls and banquets, among them, the lavish wedding of the Duke of Parma Alexander Farnesio and the Infanta María of Portugal in 1565. This brilliance also reached the following century. Inaugurated under the mandate of Archduke Albert of Austria and his wife, Isabel Clara Eugenia (daughter of Philip II), the palace gained with them a second floor in the main building, a renovated façade and more elegant gardens.
It would even have a street named Archduchess, because it was designed to protect it from movements towards the neighboring collegiate church – today the cathedral – of San Miguel and Santa Gúdula during the riots between Catholics and Protestants.
All this magnificence went up in smoke on the night of February 3-4, 1731. A fire that started in the rooms of the governor general Maria Elisabeth of Austria devastated most of Coudenberg. In the confusion, under a strong wind that spread the flames and a winter so cold that the water to put them out froze in the buckets, the help of the citizen brigades was clumsily rejected.
Furthermore, it took time to enter the archduchess's quarters, the focus of the fire, so as not to violate her privacy. A grenadier ended up having the common sense to skip protocol, break the door and save the governor, who was saved in extremis from burning to death.
The dawn light showed a desolate landscape. Most of the palace was charred or crumbling to pieces. Although the court immediately relocated to the surrounding mansions, the lack of budget made Coudenberg an urban wasteland for four decades. At the end of the 18th century, the governor general Carlos Alejandro de Lorraine finally decided to clear it of rubble, level the land and erect the current Royal Quarter, with the palace, the plaza and the other neoclassical style buildings that make up this historic sector. from Brussels.
As the years passed, the city forgot that the proud ducal and imperial residence had been built there. The basements and cellars of palaces in the area such as the Bellevue and the Grimbergen reused those of Coudenberg. These only began to be scientifically investigated at the beginning of the 20th century. And it was later still, in 1984, when exhaustive archaeological works were undertaken.
The work allowed the public to be offered a complete tour of the underground rooms, preserved from the great fire. For some years now, moreover, your visit has been complemented by the exhibition of objects rescued from the ill-fated palace of the dukes of Brabant and Burgundy, Charles V and the Austrian archdukes.
This text is part of an article published in number 551 of the magazine Historia y Vida. Do you have something to contribute? Write to us at redaccionhyv@historiayvida.com.
