The Guild Houses Brussels

When in Brussels, Belgium, do what many other residents and tourists do – visit the marketplace and take in the beauty of the Guild Houses of Brussels. They are remarkable for their exterior décor, and of course for their history. Even though the term guild houses is used for all the houses on the marketplace square, not all of them belonged to the medieval guilds. Some of the homes were in fact privately owned. The major rasion d'etre of these fancy guild houses was to demonstrate the power and importance of their trade, and to participate in the political climate of the times.