Belgian BAM subsidiary wins contract to restore four facades Great Market, Brussels
Liège/Brussels, Belgium, 12 November 2007 – Galère sa, an operating company of Royal BAM Group nv, has been awarded the contract for the restoration of four monumental facades of buildings on the Great Market by the municipality of Brussels. The project includes the facades of the buildings the Star, the Swan, In the Golden Tree and the Rose. Restoration activities are starting this month and will be completed in approximately six months. The contract value amounts to approximately € 900.000,-.
The four buildings are listed by World Heritage since 1999. Three buildings are owned by the municipality of Brussels. The fourth is owned by the municipal organisation for social care (OCMW). The restaurants and cafes will stay open during the restoration period. In 2004 Galère also carried out the restoration of another building on the Great Market, called the House of the Donkey.
The history of the Great Market dates back to the Middle Ages. Originally the market was surrounded by wooden houses. In 1695 the Great Market was bombed by the French Army. The reconstruction of the heart of Brussels took only five years. Also the buildings which are now renovated by Galère, date from around 1700.