- Address: Rue Wiertz 60, 1047 Brussels, Belgium
- Phone: +32 2 284 21 11
- Official website: www.europarl.europa.eu
- Opening hours: 8.45 - 17.30 (Saturday, Sunday - the weekend)
An unusual futuristic building located in the European quarter of Brussels, attracts the sights of all tourists without exception. But how else, because it can be seen from anywhere in the city! The huge modern palace, built in the postmodern style, has a transparent facade made of steel and glass. This is the main building of the European Parliament, where all important decisions of the European Union are adopted. Let's find out more about this sights of Brussels and Europe in general.
What is interesting about the building of the European Parliament?
So, the architecture of the building is very unusual. It is made in the form of a wing and has a streamlined shape. The building is crowned by a Gothic spire, and in the building itself the features of the Roman Coliseum are seen. Do not be surprised if you notice that the 60-meter tower looks unfinished - this is the intention of the authors of the project, according to which this form of the tower symbolizes an incomplete list of the countries of the European Union.
Each building of the European Parliament in Brussels bears the name of one of the prominent political figures: Willy Brandt, Vaclav Havel, Anna Politkovskaya. And the main building is named after Althieri Spinelli, the Italian communist who first submitted the idea of creating the United States of Europe and even proposed the constitution of this state.
"Heart of Europe" - a sculptural composition of a united Europe, which is located in front of the building of the European Parliament from the side of the Wiertz street. The author of the sculpture is the famous Lyudmila Cherina - a French artist, writer, ballerina and actress in one person. "The Heart of Europe" has another name - "Europe in the Heart", but it is often referred to simply as "Euro".
Inspection of the architectural composition of the building of the European Parliament in Brussels is certainly very interesting. However, even more exciting is the opportunity to visit this building, to visit its lobby and even at a plenary session. There are both group and individual excursions. By the way, if you manage to get to the session of the European Parliament, you will hear in the headphones almost instant translation of what the parliamentarians said, in any of the 20 languages of the European Union.
How to get to the building of the European Parliament in Brussels?
The Brussels building complex of the European Parliament is located on the Luxembourg square, in the eastern part of the Brussels municipality. The European quarter is 2.5 km away from the historic center of the city. If you are planning to visit the Leopold Park in Brussels, then it is easy to reconcile these two attractions, because they are nearby. Arriving in the European Quarter, take for a landmark a statue of John Cockerill in the square of Luxembourg. Behind it is a small building, which in the XIX century was a railway station. The complex of administrative buildings, visible next to it, is the European Parliament.
The building of the European Parliament in Brussels is open from Monday to Friday. Opening hours are from 8:45 to 17:30. It's impossible to get inside the building on Saturday and Sunday.
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