Brussels showcases the best of its 19th century architecture in new ANTE Festival

If the Belgian capital is renowned worldwide for its Art Nouveau and Art Deco heritage, its 19th century architecture has yet to achieve similar levels of appreciation.

That’s one reason why Brussels is launching the ANTE Festival as a sister event to its successful spring BANAD Festival over two weekends: 11 & 12 and 18 & 19 October.

Exploring more than 100 years (1870-1920) of architectural revolution predating the pioneering art nouveau and art deco movements, it encompasses a plethora of styles from neoclassical and eclecticism to neo-Gothic, Neo-Flemish Renaissance and Neo-Egyptian.

Via guided tours of buildings, many usually off-limits to the public, the festival showcases an often overlooked artistic heritage, characterised by “evolutions, transitions, ruptures and major stylistic and technical experimentation,” says festival organiser Explore.Brussels.

One example is the Greenhouses of Laeken by architect Alphonse Balat that was commissioned by King Leopold II. The glass and steel structure was constructed between 1874 and 1876  and was highly innovative for the period. “Both stylistically and technologically, it really announced Art Nouveau,” says the umbrella organisation for guided tour associations in Brussels.

The festival programme is organised around two locations to enable visitors to walk from one venue to the other. During the opening weekend, it focuses on city-centre and northern places of interest, while the second weekend explores sites in the south of Brussels.

In addition to the tours – walking, cycling and by tram – there are themed talks, workshops and an exhibition. Adapted visits are also organised for people with a disability (Explore+), as well as people learning French and Dutch as a foreign language.

This first edition of the festival aims to relate the social history of Brussels through a series of strategic locations.

• Places of institutional power: Royal Palace of Brussels; Palace of Justice; Court of Auditors

• Knowledge centres and buildings bearing witness to technological revolutions: Building A – ULB (pictured above); Château Tournay Solvay; Halles de Schaerbeek; Schaerbeek Station

• Artistic creation spaces: Personal home and workshops of Constantin Meunier; Camille Lemonnier Museum; Moulding Workshop of the Royal Museums of Art and History; Van Der Kelen - Logelain School of Painting

• Enigmatic settings: Former Crédit du Nord Belge, CGER and Brunner Banks; Masonic Lodge Les Amis Philanthropes

• Private residences and former homes of notable people: Campioni-Balasse; Hemelsoet; Pelgrims; Hap; de Lunden; Bischoffsheim; Du Pont; Maison Dessigny; Bloemenberg

Among the emblematic locations opening their doors for exclusive tours on 11 and 12 October is the former CGER bank in Rue Fossé aux Loups. It reopened as the chic and elegant four-star Hotel Fleur de Ville in July 2024, following a four-year renovation project.

Part of a complex of architectural masterpieces in the district that were commissioned by Belgian banks and resplendent with period features, the building is a prime example of the eclectic style. It was built in different phases between 1889 and 1918 and designed by a succession of architects, notably Henri Beyaert and Alban Chambon.

From the elegant neo-classical facade, topped by a tower, to interior marble staircases and fireplaces and stained glass windows, there is a treasure trove of crafted details. Floors are generally mosaic or parquet, while the multiple lofty oak door frames lend sleek refinement. A plethora of allegorical details in the decor, such as bees and hive, symbolise the virtue of saving, while other constant reminders of the building’s origin including signs reading Travail and Economie. The former meeting room, the Salle de Conseil (pictured above), is a grand and richly embellished tribute to this once powerful seat of financial power.

The Ante Festival is expecting more than 6,000 visitors over the two weekends.

Photos: (main image) Hotel Campioni ©Explore Brussels/Endre Sebok; Ecole de peinture Van Der Kelen-Logelain ©Explore Brussels/Van Der Kelen; Maison de Lunden ©Explore Brussels/Sophie Voituron; ULB Batiment A ©Explore Brussels/Lara Herbinia; Hotel Fleur de Ville ©The Bulletin