2023-09-10 15:18:00
The angry citizens did not shy away from their pleasure to discover the renovation of their town hall.
As soon as the inauguration of the emblematic building in the city center was announced, many people signed up to take part in the guided tours organized for the occasion. There were so many requests that we had to add sessions.
This is how many visitors were able to follow the explanations of Marie-Joëlle Pollet, from the guides society, who retraced the history of the monument.
Tournai stone
1886, the population is booming. The municipal council decides to build a new town hall. For this, a call for projects is launched, in which 22 architects including Victor Horta are taking part. It is that of the Bruges architect René Buyck which is chosen, in the neo-Gothic style, very fashionable at the time. It is built with regional materials: blue stone from Tournai, white stone from Crazannes, red brick, wrought iron, wood. The administrative building will be inaugurated on July 13, 1890.
As soon as they enter, via the Grand-Place, visitors are surprised by the brightness of the space provided by the glass extension at the rear of the building.
The renovated frieze represents the nine Belgian provinces. During its construction, Mouscron depended on Bruges, capital of the province of West Flanders. 60 years ago, in 1963, the city was attached to the province of Hainaut.
In the wedding hall, a parquet floor replaces the red carpet printed with the coat of arms. We find the murals created by Ernest Cracco, a painter from Mouscron. He represented four brotherhoods: the masons, the weavers, the painters and of course, the brewers.
On the left when entering the room, we notice the Mouscron coat of arms. They were ceded in 1676 by the family of Counts Basta. But it was not until 1991 that they were officially recognized as the coat of arms of the city of Mouscron.
At the end of the visit, some visitors feel nostalgic for the old building. However, the general opinion is that the much-needed renovations have been successful.
Magical, this nocturnal spectacle!
Poetry, circus, music, the magical and aerial show presented on the occasion of the inauguration of the renovated town hall was a great success. For more than half an hour, the audience was amazed. The show evoked the history of the building in which weddings once again take place. The story alluded to the union between the citizen and his city. The artists wandered among the crowd and twirled in the air. Through this magical wedding-show, musicians, dancers, animal creatures from fairy tales and finally the guardian angels descending from the sky offered protection, positive energy and happiness to the city and its citizens. At the end of the free show, the comments were positive: a very beautiful production, a true artistic performance, an incredible painting, it was truly very beautiful, magical. DR
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