Underground 2: Coudenberg Palace, with a Zeiss Sonnar 50mm f1.5

The Palace of Coudenberg (central Brussels), supposedly one of the finest in Europe, was destroyed by fire in 1731 (CE) and the ruins demolished in the late 18th century to make way for redevelopment of the entire area. Ruins were rediscovered about 100 years ago and extensive long-lasting excavation revealed the remains currently on display, including an ancient road (“Rue Isabelle”) which ran next to the palace.

Entrance to the museum is via the building on the right of the king’s current palace and a young lady greets you as you enter the museum doors (featured image). But now it’s time to forego worldly pleasures and head underground.

The remains are divided into four areas: entrance (what was foundations of the living quarters of the palace), chapel, banqueting hall and the road.

The Entrance

Covering the smallest area of the four, the entrance contains some of the oldest walls of the structure, former and later basements and ruined steps which led to the inner courtyard.

Chapel

The ground sloped steeply and what you see here is the basement which supported a floor and in turn supported the chapel at the same level as the banqueting hall. The basement was used for storage and is divided into six ‘rooms’ and a central corridor.

Banqueting Hall (“Aula Magna”)

The hall was the site for major functions of the court, accession and abdication of monarchs and royal weddings not just at a national level but international too.

Rue Isabelle

The excavated section runs the entire length of the Hall and Chapel. At the lower end the road turned gently to continue on down the hill.

I photographed using the Zeiss Sonnar on a Sony A7Riii and shot at f2 with aperture priority and auto iso between 100 and 1600. At some time I shall revisit with a film camera and 400asa film pushed to 800 which would handle most situations I think having seen the camera choices of film speed.

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