The Sablon

The Sablon is two squares in the upper town: the Grand Sablon, a sloping open space lined with antique dealers, art galleries and the flagship shops of several Belgian chocolatiers, with a small antiques market at weekends; and the Petit Sablon opposite, a formal garden of 1890 enclosed by forty-eight bronze figures on columns representing the medieval guilds of Brussels, each with its tool. Between them stands the church of Our Lady of the Sablon, a fifteenth-century Brabantine Gothic building begun by the crossbowmen's guild, with tall windows, a hanging boat votive and a baroque funerary chapel. The quarter is the traditional dealing centre for antiques in the city and prices reflect that.

History

In the early 13th century Duke Henry I of Brabant recognised the Noble Serment of Crossbowmen as a guild and let it use the Sablon, a piece of sandy ground outside the city walls, as its exercise ground, and in 1304 the guild built a modest chapel of Our Lady beside it. Legend says Beatrijs Soetkens brought a miraculous statue of the Virgin by boat from Antwerp in 1348, and the church of Our Lady of the Sablon that replaced the chapel was begun around 1400, its choir finished by 1435; the Thurn und Taxis family, whose house stood opposite, added two chapels in 1651-1676 and 1690 (Wikipedia, Church of Our Lady of Victories at the Sablon).

Highlights

• Forty-eight guild figures - bronze statues on columns around the Petit Sablon.
• The Sablon church - fifteenth-century Brabantine Gothic with tall glass.
• Antique dealers and galleries - the trade the square is built around.
• Chocolatier flagships - several of the best-known Belgian houses.

When to go

Year round. Two hours. The antiques market runs on Saturday and Sunday mornings. The Petit Sablon garden is best in spring and early summer. Church hours vary with services.

Practical notes

Chocolate shops here are priced for visitors and the same brands are cheaper elsewhere. The antiques trade is serious and not a browsing market. The squares are busy with traffic. The garden closes at dusk.

Nearby

The Palais de Justice is uphill; Mont des Arts and the museums lie north.