Its construction was decided in 1651 to provide shelter for people to trade and finance, previously used to meet in the open air. Its implementation was entrusted to architect Julien Destrée in 1652 to 1653. Under its apparent unity, it is actually composed of twenty-four identical houses, built at the expense of twenty-four merchants. They form a quadrangle around a courtyard with arcades, whose calm contrasts with the busy streets nearby. The abundant sculptural decoration of polychrome facades present an infinite variety of animated Atlantean pillars and caryatids. Above the windows, pediments, sometimes curved and sometimes triangular cartridges are adorned with pot-bellied, with garlands of flowers and fleshy fruits, like the Flemish Renaissance.
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