A quest on and around the Grand-Place of

Brussels

Entrepreneurial Brussels

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With this quest we want to introduce to you some good examples of entrepreneurship in and around Brussels. We will walk along:

designer and fashion boutiques; a maze of varied shops and multibrand department stores; traditional cafés where you can experience the real ‘Bruxellois’ identity

while sampling a Faro, Gueuze or Kriek; bistrots and brasseries where antiques, special beers and peace and

quiet are the order of the day; cosy restaurants with tasty foods; Belgian made pralines shops; and much more...

This brochure contains a number of sheets. Each sheet consists of:

a picture of the area; tourist information; one or more questions.

Please write down the answer on each question on the answers sheet. By doing this quest quest, you will be able to show all your entrepreneurial qualities. Make a team, devide the tasks, take initiative, find sollutions, discuss with each other… Discover the entrepreneurial spirit of Brussels and have fun!

Introduction

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1 Do-it-yourself

We don’t like cheating! So: don’t ask anyone the answer on a question; don’t enter any shops or cafés; don’t steal answers from another participant.

2 This isn’t a walking marathon

This quest isn’t a speed contest. So: take your time and soak up the atmosphere; enjoy your visit to Brussels; be careful!

3 Team spirit is important

Act as a team and work together. Divide the tasks. So: choose a leader; look for someone who can read aloud the explanations and ques-

tions; appoint someone as secretary, who writes everything down; put a navigator in charge of the search for the right spot or street; find the right answers together.

4 Instant solutions

Accomplish every task immediately. So:

don’t postpone; write the answers immediately down on the answers sheet; give compact but clear.

Rules of the game

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The Grand-Place of Brussels is considered as one of the most beau-tiful places of Europe. All four sides are very well conserved. The Grand-Place of Brussels was registered on the World Heritage List of the UNESCO in 1998. As well in the past as now, the grand-Place is bustling with en-trepreneurship.

One of the buildings at the Grand-Place was once the city’s Bread Hall (Broodhuis in Dutch). It la-ter housed the offices of the tax col-lector of the Duchy of Brabant, who became the King of Spain. That’s why the house is also known as the ’Maison du Roi’ (King’s House), alt-hough he never actually lived there. Something that belongs to one of the most famous Brusseleirs (inhabitants of Brussels) is now safekept in this house/museum .

What is it?

The Grand-Place of Brussels - Grote Markt

Question 1

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The Grand-Place consists of several guildhalls. A Guild was an urban association of merchants and craftsmen with the sa-me profession. The Guildhall was the house where the board of the Guild had their offices. Each Guildhall has a typical name.

The Horn, the house at number 6, was bought by boatmen in 1434. A horn, symbol of the house, has been placed bet-ween the ground floor and the mezzanine level.

What marine animal is portret-ted on the facade of this hou-se? Did you know that Brussels still has an important port?

De Hoorn - The Horn

Question 2

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It’s a great honour to receive the title of Pur-veyor to the Royal Household (hofleverancier) from his majesty. He/she may provide his/here services and products to the Royal Hou-sehold. The holder of this title is bound by strickt regu-lations.The Royal Arms may only be repre-sent on strict conditions. Enterprises who earned the title often mention this on the shopwindow or on the package.

In the Boterstraat you can find some shops of famous Belgian pralines (individual filled chocolates) brands. One of them owns the title Purveyor to the Royal Household and shows this proudly by means of a large pic-ture of the Royal Arms on the en-trance door. Give us the name of this famous Bel-gian pralines maker.

Purveyor to the Royal Household - hofleverancier

Question 3

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The Guilds usually had a patron saint. The patron saint of the carpen-ters was Saint Joseph. The sculptors and the painters often choosed Saint Lucas as patron saint.

De Zwaan (the Swan) was the house of the guild of butchers. (The well-known Beenhouwersstraat -Butchersstreet- with its restaurants is only a few steps away). Note: don’t go to these restaurants; they are real

tourist traps!

At which housenumber we took this pic-ture?

De Zwaan - the Swan

Question 4

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Housenumber 1 used to be the hous of the guild of bakers, therefore known as the ‘Bakershouse’. On the second flour, the facade is decorated with a bust of Charles II, King of Spain. That’s why the second na-me of this house is ‘the king of Spain’. The traditional café located in this house, not only at-tracts tourists, also natives like to drink their Belgium Beer there.

a. Just above the entrance of the tavern, you can see the bust of de patron saint of the bakers. What is the name of this saint?

b. After the destruction, this hou-

se was rebuilt between 1900 and 1902. What is the name of the architect who rebuilt it?

Den Coninck van Spaignien - the King of Spain

Question 5

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In a small street leading to the Grand-Place, you can find a well-known theme café. In this lugubrious café you can have a drink surrounded by coffins, mum-mies, skeletons and skulls! A lot of customers come here for the cocktails with macabre names and the cemetery atmosphere.

What is the name of the small street where this café is located?

Le Cercueil - the coffin

Question 6

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The house ‘The Fox’ (number 7) be-longed to the guild of haberdashers. The various bas-reliefs between the ground floor and the mezzanine le-vel represent the profession of ha-berdasher. Did you find the picture that repre-sent two haberdashers who fell in love.

The four statues on the facade of this house represent the four con-tinents who were, at that time al-ready discovered.. Which four continents are mentio-ned on the facade?

De Vos - The Fox

Question 7

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This special location on the Grand-Place is under the cobblestones. If you miss the real Brussels (in Brussels’ dialect, “‘t kelderke” means “the little cellar”) and its cooking, stop by this ancient 17th century vaulted cellar. This is a great place to try local specialties such as bloedpens (blood sausage) a la Bruxelloise, stoemp (mashed potato and ve-getable) with boudin (sausage) - owner Jef De Gelas is renowned locally as the "King of Stoemp" - carbonnades à la flamande (Flemish beef stew), lapin à la gueuze (rabbit in Brussels beer), and big, steaming pans piled high with Zeeland mussels.

How many different variations of ‘stoemp’ can you order in the cellar restaurant ‘t kelderke?

‘t Kelderke - the little cellar

Question 8

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The houses with the numbers 2 and 3 be-longed to the guild of grease makers. There are stil a lot of (industrial) grease makers in Belgium.

These houses are also known as ‘Den Cruywagen’ (Dutch for the wheelbarrow) What is the French translation for ‘Den Cruywagen’?

Den Cruywagen - the wheelbarrow

Question 9

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The Belgian chocolates and delicious pralines are famous all over the world. They are made with 100 % pure cacao or ca-cao butter (no other vegetal grease) and the chocolates contains at least 35 % cacao. The Belgian Jean Neuhaus made the first pralines (individual filled

chocolates) in 1912 in the city center of Brussels. The pralines are an important export product.

Three well known brands of Belgian pralines have a sales point on the Grand-Place. Give us the names of those three Belgian brands.

Pralines

Question 10

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Number 4, house ‘Den Sack’ (The Bag) was the residence of the guild of cabinet-makers and coopers. If you look very atten-tively you ‘ll find on the upper side of the door the number 8350 preceded by the ab-breviation RC (Registre du Commerce). In the old days every commercial company had to be registered at the Court of Com-merce (one of the many registrations…). Today every company in Belgium has one unique number (enterprise number). Every company is known by the Belgian Govern-ment under this number. Every (new) com-pany needs to be registered only once for all purposes! This unique number is also used as VAT-number.

As you can see, today this building houses the chocolate shop “La Maison des Maîtres Chocolatiers Belges”. Here you can purchase and taste the work of 10 artisans who create Belgian chocolate using traditional methods. Give the name of 4 of these 10 master chocolatiers.

Den Sack - the bag

Question 11

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Dandoy

Question 12

In the Boterstraat (Butter street), a small street leading to the Grand- Place, you can find maison Dandoy. This very old traditio-nal biscuit maker is well known for its typical Belgian specialities like speculoos (spycy buiscuits), macarons, pain à la grecque (Greek-style bread, macarons, coeurs de Bruxelles (heart of Brussels)...

In which year maison Dandoy was founded?

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F. Rubbrecht: this famous little shop sells authentic lace for tables, aprons, veils and more, created ac-cording to the purest traditions of la-ce-making.

a. Which tools (typical for lace-making) can you discover on the stained glass above the entrance door of this lace shop?

b. In which year the house, that accom-

modate the shop of F. Rubbrecht, was built?

Den Engel - The Angel

Question 13

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Brussels is also the center of Belgian comic strip. Tintin, Asterix, Lucky Luke, Bob and Bobette, Blake and Morti-mer, the Smurfs and 31 other colourful heroes are all born in Belgium! The most famous and the most Belgian of the comic strip heroes, Tintin (Kuifje in Dutch) was created by Hergé (Georges Rémi). The Belgian Comic Strip Center is housed in the former Waucquez warehous (built by Victor Horta; Art Nouveau!), Zandstraat 20.

Not only the albums of Tintin, are very popular, also the beautiful posters and the wide range of gadgets of the joung newspaper reporter are best-selling items. The ‘Boutique de Tintin’ is situated in one of the small streets leading to the Grand-Place. What is the address of the shop called ‘Boutique de Tintin’? Give us the name of the street and the correct housenum-ber.

Kuifje - Tintin

Question 14

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The answers on the general questions are not always linked to the location .... Sometimes it will be neces-sary to guess.

1 Which VAT rate is applied to drinks on one of the café terraces on the Grand-Place?

2 Which ingredients are used to prepare the famous Brussels drink

called ’half ’n half’? a. Ice cream and wipped cream; b. Sparkling wine and white wine; c. Coffee and chocolate; d. Almonds and cinnamon.

3 The city of Brussels is a part of the Region Brussels Capital, the

smallest of the three regions. How big is the Region Brussels Capi-tal (in km², with 2 decimal figures)?

4 Which immage represents the famous Belgian vegetable called

‘Brussels sprouts’?

a b c 5 Gueuze, kriek, lambic and faro are famous beer types which are

only brewed in and around Brussels. Which authentic brewery is located in the heart of the city center of Brussels?

a. St-Louis; b. Cantillon; c. Mort-Subite; d. Lindemans.

General questions

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6 How many business companies are there in the region of Brussels Capital? (Total for Flanders: 592.466). (Source: graydon, situation on 31/12/2010)

7 ‘In Belgium everyone can start up a business without any special knowledge, diploma or certificate’.

a. This statement is correct; b. This this statement is not correct.

8 Who isn’t a famous fashion designer of Belgium?

a. Walter Van Beirendonck; b. Nicky Vankets; c. Olivier Strelli; d. Daryl van Wouw; e. Dirk Bikkembergs.

9 The Belgian waffles are delicious. Which immage represents a

Brussels waffle?

a b c 10 What is the name of the Belgian brand of exclusive leather hand- made handbags?

a. Louis Vuitton; b. Delvaux; c. Omar Munie; d. Friis.

General questions