Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert/Koninklijke Sint-Hubertusgalerijen - Brussels, Belgium - Philatelic Photographs on Waymarking.com

The Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert (French) or Koninklijke Sint-Hubertusgalerijen (Dutch) is a glazed shopping arcade in Brussels that preceded other famous 19th-century shopping arcades such as the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan and The Passage in St Petersburg.

The gallery was designed by the young architect Jean-Pierre Cluysenaer, who determined to sweep away a warren of ill-lit alleyways between the Grasmarkt / Marché aux Herbes and the Kruidtuinberg / Montagne aux Herbes Potagères and replace a sordid space where the bourgeoisie scarcely ventured into with a covered shopping arcade more than 200 m in length. His idea, conceived in 1836, was finally authorized in February 1845. The partnership "Société des Galeries Saint-Hubert", in which the banker Jean-André Demot took an interest, was established by the summer, but nine years were required to disentangle all the property rights, assembled by rights of eminent domain, during a process that caused one property owner to die of a stroke and a barber, it was said, slit his throat as the adjacent house came down.

Construction started on May 6, 1846. It lasted for 18 months, and the 213 m passage was inaugurated on June 20, 1847 by King Leopold and his two sons. In 1845 the Société named the three sections of the new passage the Galerie du Roi, Galerie de la Reine and Galerie du Prince. The ensemble, called the Passage Saint-Hubert has borne its present name since 1965.

Under its motto "Omnibus omnia" (Everything for everybody), displayed in the fronton of its palace-like façade, the Passage Saint-Hubert attracted people of fashion. Brilliantly lit, it offered the luxury of outdoor cafés in Brussels' inclement climate, in an ambiance of luxury retailers that brought to Brussels the true feel of a European capital. In the premises of the journal, March 1, 1896, the first public showing of moving pictures took place of the cinematographers Lumière, fresh from their initial triumph in Paris.

A theatre inside the galleries, the Théâtre des Galeries Saint-Hubert, was designed by Cluysenaer and opened June 7, 1847. It became one of three royal theaters of Brussels, playing operetta and revues. The interior was rebuilt in 1951

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In 1996 the Gallery appeared on one of the stamps of the series "Brussel,Center of Europe and capital of Art Nouveau". 6 440 250 exemplars of the stamp were printed.

Stamp Issuing Country: Belgium Date of Issue: 8th of June 1996 Denomination: 16 Belgium Francs Color: multicolour Stamp Type: Single Stamp Relevant Web Site: [Web Link]

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