Colonne du Congrès

©Analia Glogowski/Lonely Planet

Colonne du Congrès

Brussels

LoginSave

Brussels’ 25m-tall version of Nelson’s Column is an 1850s monolith topped by a gilded statue of King Léopold I. It commemorates the Belgian constitution of 1831. The four female figures around its base represent the four constitutionally upheld freedoms of religion, association, education and the press. The last of these encouraged Victor Hugo, Karl Marx and others to visit Belgium back when such freedoms were much more restricted in other parts of Europe.

Between two bronze lions, an eternal flame honours Belgian victims of the two world wars.

Transportation

  • metro: Madou

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • Belgium, Antwerp, garden in Peter Paul Ruben's house

    Rubenshuis

    25.45 MILES

    This delightfully indulgent 1611 mansion was built as a home and studio for celebrated painter Pieter Paul Rubens. It was rescued from ruins in 1937 and…

  • Interiors of Notre dame d'Anvers cathedral, Anvers, Belgium

    Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal

    25.64 MILES

    Belgium’s finest Gothic cathedral was 169 years in the making (1352–1521). Wherever you wander in Antwerp, its gracious, 123m-high spire has a habit of…

  • BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - August 09, 2014: General view of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels, one of the most visited museums in Belgium with its large art collection.; Shutterstock ID 586734455; Your name (First / Last): Daniel Fahey; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts POI

    Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts

    0.61 MILES

    This prestigious museum incorporates the Musée d’Art Ancien (ancient art); the Musée d’Art Moderne (modern art), with works by surrealist Paul Delvaux and…

  • Museum Plantin-Moretus

    Museum Plantin-Moretus

    25.49 MILES

    The medieval building and 1622 courtyard garden alone would be worth a visit, but it's the world's oldest printing press, priceless manuscripts and…

  • The museum of musical instruments "Old England", Brussels, Belgium

    Old England Building

    0.54 MILES

    This 1899 former department store is an art nouveau showpiece with a black facade aswirl with wrought iron and arched windows. The building contains the…

  • Triumphal Arch at Parc du Cinquantenaire in the EU Quarter.

    Parc du Cinquantenaire

    1.53 MILES

    Parc du Cinquantenaire was built during Léopold II's reign. It's best known for its cluster of museums – art, history, military and motor vehicles – which…

  • TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY Laurent Thomet.A picture taken on July 28, 2011 shows stuffed rhinoceros at the Brussels Royal Institute for Natural Sciences Museum. It was a daring daytime robbery at the natural science museum. The two thieves snuck into the rhino gallery and ripped a stuffed head off the wall. They carried it to a restroom, opened a window, and dropped the 30-kilo trophy two-stories down to an accomplice waiting in a van. The museum had never been robbed until the July heist, when it became the latest of a rising number of science museums in Europe targetted by thieves for rhino horns, which can fetch tens of thousands of euros on the black market. AFP PHOTO / GEORGES GOBET (Photo credit should read GEORGES GOBET/AFP/Getty Images)

    Institut des Sciences Naturelles

    1.1 MILES

    Thought-provoking and highly interactive, this museum has far more than the usual selection of stuffed animals. But the undoubted highlight is a unique …

  • Lace making in Bruges, 2014. The intricate lace patterns in Belgium are unmatched in any other country. The lace trade rose during the early Renaissance. Emperor Charles V decreed that lace-making should be a compulsory skill for girls in convents and beguines throughout Flanders. Lace became fashionable on collars and cuffs for both sexes. Trade reached a peak in the 18th century. Lace makers are traditionally women. Hundreds of craftswomen still work in Bruges and Brussels, centres of bobbin lace, creating intricate work by hand, often using over 100 threads per bobbin. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

    Musée Mode & Dentelle

    0.58 MILES

    Lace making has been one of Flanders’ finest crafts since the 16th century. While kloskant (bobbin lace) originated in Bruges, naaldkant (needlepoint lace…

View more attractions

Nearby Brussels attractions

1. Marc Sleen Museum

0.17 MILES

Set in a handsome mosaiced and tiled former newspaper office right opposite the Centre Belge de la Bande Dessinée, this free museum explores the work of…

2. Centre Belge de la Bande Dessinée

0.17 MILES

This centre offers a definitive and enjoyable overview of the country’s vibrant comic-strip culture. Even if you’re not excited by the ‘ninth art’, do…

3. National Bank of Belgium Museum

0.18 MILES

Unexpectedly absorbing, the renovated National Bank Museum is far more than just a coin collection. Well-presented exhibits trace the very concept of…

4. Cathédrale des Sts-Michel & Gudule

0.22 MILES

Host to coronations and royal weddings, Brussels’ grand, twin-towered cathedral bears at least some resemblance to Paris’ Notre Dame. Begun in 1226,…

5. Charlier Museum

0.33 MILES

A lesser sight on the Horta trail, this grand private house was remodelled and extended by the architect in 1893. It displays a rather stuffy collection…

6. Parc de Bruxelles

0.38 MILES

Brussels is well endowed with outlying forests and parklands, but in the inner city it's a different story. The largest central patch of greenery is Parc…

7. Église Notre-Dame du Finistère

0.4 MILES

To escape the lacklustre '70s architecture, meditate awhile in this 18th-century church whose baroque interior features a remarkable 1758 altarpiece, its…

8. Jeanneke Pis

0.42 MILES

Squatting just off Rue des Bouchers, this pigtailed female counterpart of Manneken Pis is the work of sculptor Denis Adrien Debouvrie, who installed her…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting: 
    {
  "url": "belgium/brussels/grand-place-ilot-sacre-1342453/attractions/colonne-du-congres/a/poi-sig/1260868/1342453",
  "destination": "Brussels",
  "continent": "Europe",
  "country": "Belgium",
  "city": "Brussels",
  "position": "superzone"
}