Het Coudenbergpaleis

The Coudenberg Palace lies beneath the Place Royale, a sprawling subterranean ruin where the counts of Flanders and the dukes of Burgundy once held court. For centuries, this site housed the most powerful rulers in Europe, including Emperor Charles the Fifth. A massive fire tore through the complex in seventeen thirty-one, forcing the court to flee. Officials later paved over the charred remains to build the current square, leaving the vast, silent stone foundations to wait in the dark until archaeologists rediscovered them.