Wikipedia's page in French (
visit link) as interprested by Google informs us:
"The "House of the Dukes of Brabant " ...so called because of the Dukes of Brabant busts that adorn, is a set of seven houses of style ' Baroque classicist " grouped behind a single monumental facade occupying majestically across the east side of the Grand Place in Brussels.
History
The baroque facade
"The Fortune " houses "The Hermitage " , "The Windmill " and " Exchange" originally belonged to the City of Brussels .
After the bombardment of Brussels by French troops commanded by Marshal Villeroy in August 1695, they were sold by the City in 1696 to finance the reconstruction of the town hall .
The sign of the " Windmill House " The " Windmill " was acquired at this time by the Corporation Millers.
The monumental Baroque facade of the House of Dukes of Brabant was drawn around 1697-1698 by the architect of the city of Brussels Guillaume de Bruyn .
Neoclassical transformation
The Coronation of the façade was radically changed in 1770 by Laurent Benoît Dewez, the great name of neoclassical architecture in Belgium.
Before his speech, the central arched pediment was pierced by four œils ox- oval and topped with a gable scroll surmounted by a triangular pediment , as shown in the drawing of Ferdinand Joseph De Rons 1749 .
Dewez endowed the bent of a huge carved tympanum pediment and pinion replaced by a wall topped by a balustrade ordered to fire pots with white stone , which will be replaced with fire pots copper during the restoration nineteenth century .
The bas-relief of the eardrum , the interpretation is controversial, probably represents " Abundance , or the recovery of trade and industry ".
Restorations
The house of the Dukes of Brabant has undergone extensive restoration between 1881 and 1890 , led by Victor Jamaer, the architect of the city of Brussels , which was very active in the Grand- Place the late nineteenth century as rasa and rebuilt the " Maison du Roi " in neo-Gothic style and restored several baroque houses as the "House of the Wolf" , the "House of Vulpecula and Oak ", the "House of peacock "and" House of Libra . " It was at this time that the fire pots in white stone in 1770 were replaced by copper fire pots that can be seen today .
It was restored in 1987-1990 again.
The dates of construction and restoration cartridges are certified by " Anno 1697 ", " Restauratum 1890 " and " 1990 Restauratum " worn by the window sills of the first floor ( between the busts of the Dukes of Brabant) and the mezzanine."