Paleis op de Meir: An Eighteenth-Century City Palace in Antwerp
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.3
- Popularity
- Low
- Country
- Belgium
- Primary era
- Early Modern
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Early Modern, Modern
- Civilizations
- Belgian, French, Habsburg, Holy Roman Empire
- Site type
- Domestic
- Remains
- Palace
On this page16 sections
History
Paleis op de Meir is an eighteenth-century Rococo city palace in Antwerp, Belgium, built for the wealthy merchant Johan Alexander van Susteren at the corner of the Meir and the Wapper. Construction began in 1745, creating an urban residence intended to complement his rural castle at ‘s-Gravenwezel. Van Susteren’s fortune came partly from investments in the Ostend Company, but he died before the palace was completed in 1764.
Construction and Early Owners
Van Susteren cleared the site by demolishing three existing houses on the Meir. After his death, Johannes de Fraula acquired the property, completed the residence, and added its stables and garden. In 1777, he sold the palace to Count Jean Alexandre Roose de Baisy and his wife, Marie Anne Josephe van de Werve.
Their daughter, Caroline Marie Josephe, inherited the palace in 1798. Following the death of her husband, Count Charles Francois de Brouchoven de Bergeyck, she sold it in 1811 or 1812. The building then entered a period in which its owners and interiors became closely connected with the political changes affecting Antwerp and the Southern Netherlands.
Napoleonic and Dutch Royal Ownership
Napoleon Bonaparte purchased the palace for 170,000 francs and divided it into four apartments for himself, the empress, a lady-in-waiting, and his grand marshal. Napoleon was the French emperor whose rule brought the Southern Netherlands under French control. He commissioned Parisian decorators, including Pierre Fontaine, to furnish and embellish the salons in the French Empire style, a monumental early nineteenth-century design associated with Napoleonic France and classical motifs, rich materials, and gilded ornament.
Furniture and decorative elements came from France and from the Palace on Dam Square in Amsterdam. The work included chandeliers, wall tables, reddish-brown mahogany furniture, and gilded-bronze ornaments. Napoleon never stayed at Paleis op de Meir. By the time the alterations were complete, he was already in exile on Elba.
In 1814, the palace passed to Napoleon’s rival, Tsar Alexander I of Russia, who stayed there. On 28 June, he appeared on the balcony to greet Antwerp’s population. This event began a long tradition of royal appearances from the balcony. After the French were expelled, the palace became the property of William I, the first king of the newly established United Kingdom of the Netherlands. William I commissioned the furnishing of the Hall of the Seventeen Provinces, whose subject refers to the Low Countries territories brought together under Burgundian and later Habsburg rule.
Belgian Monarchy
After the Belgian Revolution of 1830, the Provisional Government claimed the palace. This temporary authority governed during the revolution before the creation of the Belgian monarchy. The building later passed to Regent Erasme-Louis Surlet de Chokier, who governed in place of a monarch and became Belgium’s first regent. In 1831, the palace provided the setting for festivities associated with King Leopold I’s ceremonial entry into Antwerp.
Leopold I used the residence regularly and received Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom there on two occasions. Later Belgian monarchs used it for receptions, including those held for prominent guests arriving in Belgium through the port of Antwerp. The balcony continued to serve for public greetings by monarchs and other major political figures, among them British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
During the reign of King Leopold II, the palace was further embellished. A large Mirror Room and a connecting gallery between the two side wings were constructed, and modern sanitary installations were added. King Albert I, who reigned during the First World War, stayed at Paleis op de Meir briefly when it served for a time as his residence after he had to leave Brussels.
Transfer and Restoration
During the 1960s, the Royal Household considered the palace unsuitable for continued royal use and began exploring a cultural purpose for the building. On 19 December 1969, King Baudouin transferred the palace and its furnishings to the Belgian state, giving it to the people for administration by the Ministry of Culture.
The building subsequently hosted cultural events, performances, and temporary installations. During its use by the International Cultural Centre, an institution that adapted the palace for cultural exhibitions, historic wall coverings were covered with plywood and some original walls were painted white. By the beginning of the 1980s, the monument had seriously deteriorated.
In 1983, Minister Karel Poma commissioned the architectural firm De Winter and Van Hunsel to undertake an integrated restoration. Historical-building research by Mimi Debruyn and material-technical research by Lode Declercq preceded the work. Budget limits and the lack of a final new use meant that restoration proceeded in stages, moving from the exterior toward the interior.
Erfgoed Vlaanderen began a major restoration campaign in 2001, addressing the facades, roof, and interior, including the Empire salons. From 2005, the palace was adapted to modern fire-safety and accessibility standards while historic fabric was retained. Erfgoed Vlaanderen had been responsible for the palace since 2004 and became Herita in 2012. The restoration was completed in 2010. On 12 March that year, 150 historically valuable furnishings returned from the Royal Palace of Brussels and were displayed in the restored interiors. The first-floor rooms and salons subsequently acquired a museum function. Paleis op de Meir is protected heritage in Flanders and is listed under monument number 5539.
Remains
Paleis op de Meir survives as a Rococo urban complex occupying the corner of the Meir and the Wapper. The original arrangement included the principal residence, two side wings, stables, a garden, and service areas. Its restored interiors combine eighteenth-century rooms with later Napoleonic and Belgian royal additions. The first floor contains the furnished salons and imperial bedroom, while the Mirror Room and adjoining reception salon retain ceremonial functions.
Exterior and Structural Fabric
Facades and Roof
The Meir and Wapper facades contain Bentheimer and Oberkirchner sandstone. Their restoration included cleaning with the hydro-pneumatic Torbo system, consolidation of natural-stone chimneys and facade elements, and reconstruction of a missing angel in the carved crest ornament using special natural-stone mortar. The roof covering was dismantled and renewed, while the roof carpentry received curative treatment.
Joinery and Services
Historic exterior joinery was restored, and characteristic shutters were reinstated from models dating from the Dutch period. French oak was used for their reconstruction. Modern accessibility and fire-safety systems were fitted into the historic structure. A lift shaft was inserted at the junction with the left wing, and wooden stairs were replaced with fire-resistant concrete constructions.
The eighteenth-century chimney flues were reused for ventilation and heating through expandable sleeves. This allowed modern systems to be installed without visually disrupting the historic rooms while isolating soot particles. Historic cast-iron radiators from the period of Leopold II were retained and connected to a controllable circuit. Wireless transmitters limited the need for cutting and drilling in decorated walls.
State Rooms and Furnished Interiors
Empire Salons and Blue Salon
Napoleon’s remodelling created the palace’s four-apartment arrangement and introduced French Empire furniture and decoration. The surviving sequence includes historically furnished salons, the Empire salons, the blue salon, the imperial bedroom, and the empress’s bedroom. The blue salon, formerly Napoleon’s salon, received replacement wall silk woven in Lyon with the original eighteenth-century motifs. Historic silk in other rooms was conserved with tulle where possible.
The Marshal’s salons, reception rooms associated with the marshal’s apartment, contain wall paintings by Balthasar Beschey. In 2006, the paintings were cleaned of darkened varnish and earlier inadequate repairs. The blue salon also contains portraits of Napoleon and Leopold II commissioned by Dominique Persoone from the graphic collective Fourpoint.
Mirror Room
The large Mirror Room was added during the reign of Leopold II, together with a gallery linking the two side wings. It retains crystal chandeliers, wall lights, and Versailles parquet. Its walls and ceiling were restored while preserving their patinated appearance. The adjoining reception salon and the Mirror Room are used for receptions, dinners, presentations, and fashion shows. The empress’s bedroom was converted into a service room with a serving counter for events held in the Mirror Room.
Hall of the Seventeen Provinces
The Hall of the Seventeen Provinces has a polychrome stucco ceiling bearing the shields of the Seventeen Provinces. The severely damaged ceiling was stabilized with an aluminium support structure and stainless-steel tie rods. Its decoration connects the room to the historical territories brought together under Burgundian and Habsburg rule.
Service Areas and Furnishings
Kitchen and Ground-Floor Rooms
The ground-floor right wing contains The Chocolate Line shop and workshop, operated by chocolatier Dominique Persoone. The workshop occupies the original kitchen, where historic faience wall tiles survive. Faience is glazed earthenware commonly used for decorative wall tiles. The salons facing the Wapper and the inner courtyard with its terrace are used by The Bistro, while staff rooms and offices occupy the right-wing junction.
Cellars and Attic
The vaulted cellars, partly intended for a public beer cellar, are used mainly as service spaces. Above the right wing, the attic spaces were originally intended for guest rooms or an exhibition about architect Jan Pieter van Baurscheidt de Jonge. They remain closed to the public because of budget constraints and the lack of a lift.
The palace’s historically valuable furnishings include 150 pieces returned to their original rooms in 2010. Together with the Empire-style furniture and decorations, these objects help preserve the sequence of royal, imperial, and reception interiors within the restored building.
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