Victor Hugo Walk in Brussels – The Windmill
15 years after his first visit to Brussels, Victor Hugo returned. This time however he was not a tourist; he was a political refugee. Wikipedia explains why:
When Louis Napoleon (Napoleon III) seized complete power in 1851, establishing an anti-parliamentary constitution, Hugo openly declared him a traitor to France.
And thus Victor Hugo relocated to Brussels for 6 months. The first place where he stayed was at the Grand-Place, Number 16; this was in January 1852. The building where he stayed was called The Windmill; on its facade you can actually see a small stone windmill. According to the information on the map, The Windmill “is one of the seven houses behind the monumental facade of the House of the Dukes of Brabant.
About a month later, Victor Hugo would move to the building next door. Here he occupied a larger room and wrote “L’histoire d’un crime” and “Napoléon-le-Petit”.
Check out the other pictures on Flickr.
6 Comments on “Victor Hugo Walk in Brussels – The Windmill”
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Ingrid is a Worldette!
Beautiful pictures, as always.
When doing the Victor Hugo walk, do you feel any closer, or gain a better understanding of him?
Yes, we did. And it’s fun to see Brussels from a different point of view.
Lovely photos, guys!
We invite you to participate in our next Travel Photography Competition. here are the details:
http://hitchhikershandbook.com/your-contributions/travel-photography/
Happy travels!
Thanks for the invitation! I will submit a picture as soon as possible.
I would love to visit Brussels. That building is amazing. I love the windmill and all the other decoration. So beautiful.
The whole Grand-Place is so amazing!