Royal Flemish Theatre

Early history

From the middle of the 19th century, there was a desire to establish a permanent Flemish theatre company in Brussels. In 1852, the Tooneel der Volksbeschouwing—Brussels' foremost Dutch-language company—was founded. This led the city authorities to reassign the former Brussels Arsenal in the Quays or Sainte-Catherine/Sint-Katelijne Quarter to that destination, a project negotiated since 1860. This building, originally a warehouse designed by the architect Remi Nivoy and erected between 1779 and 1781, stood at the end of an old dock, dug in 1639 as part of the Port of Brussels, at the eastern end of the Quai au Foin/Hooikaai and the Quai aux Pierres de Taille/Arduinkaai.

In 1883, the city's then-mayor, Charles Buls, commissioned the architect and decorator Jean Baes to design the new theatre. Baes created a new façade in neo-Flemish Renaissance style on the Rue de Laeken/Lakensestraat, whilst retaining the arsenal's old façade as the rear of the building. The final plans were approved in 1884, work began the same year and the inauguration took place on 13 October 1887. At the solemn opening by King Leopold II, the Belgian monarch spoke Dutch publicly for the first time. A significant gesture, by which the king acknowledged and honoured the decades-long battle fought to launch a Dutch-language theatre in Brussels. This recognition was made official in 1894, during another visit by the king, when the Flemish Theatre received the honorary title of "Royal" (Dutch: Koninklijk Vlaams Theater or KVS).

20th and 21st centuries

A violent fire ravaged the theatre on 25 May 1955, reducing much of its interior to ashes. Most of the damage was to the stage and the theatre hall. Luckily, the fire took place when the theatre was closed, so no one was injured or worse. The interior was quickly rebuilt according to plans by architects A.-J. Doncker and RF Michiels and the theatre reopened in 1958. The refurbishment did not, however, restore all the interior decorations, the architects of the newly built spaces, in particular the theatre hall, conforming to the prevailing views of the time regarding safety, efficiency and modern needs.

The façade and the foyer were protected as a monument through a royal decree issued on 9 September 1993. The building required major restorations and adaptations to the needs of a modern performance hall. Between 2001 and 2006, the old theatre hall was demolished and replaced by a new hall that can accommodate 500 people. On the other side of the Quai aux Pierres de Taille, a new building was built, comprising various rehearsal rooms, a small theatre hall, administrative and technical premises and a café-theatre. The two buildings are connected to each other by an underground passage under the street.