The first architect of the town hall was Jacob van Tienen. He was a pupil of Jan van Osy, who was the founder of the Brabant Gothic style. The construction of the left wing and the belfry (lower part of the current tower) started in 1402 under the auspices of the wealthy families of the city. The town hall was built of calcareous sandstone from the Dilbeek quarries, a few kilometres away.
In a fortified room on the first floor, the municipal charters were most likely kept.[1] It is unclear whether the municipal bells were also hung there. During the turbulent period around the municipal uprising of 1420-1421, the town hall was stormed several times. There was factional strife among the patricians, social unrest among the crafts, an economic crisis in the cloth industry and dynastic problems in the duchy. This is probably why the belfry function lasted a few decades at most. The charters and privileges were transferred to the treasury rooms of the St. Gudula and St. Nicholas churches.[2]
Long balconies were provided in the front facade to allow events on the Grote Markt to be followed, such as the magnificent knightly tournaments and the joyous entries.[3] The privilege room in the tower served as a ducal lodge, four of whose windows looked out onto the square. This was where the prince and the city magistrate took their mutual oath during joyous entries. It was a space full of symbolism, where the preciously illuminated manuscripts of the Brabantsche Yeesten and the rhyming chronicle of Jan van Heelu were also kept.
In 1421, the craft nations conquered a place in the city magistrate, which may have partly motivated the expansion that was started in 1444. Charles the Bold laid the first stone of the right wing, which was certainly also intended to provide support for the heightening of the tower. The latter was a matter of prestige. The right wing is smaller than the left and is the work of Willem de Voghel, who also became the architect of the Magna Aula in 1452. The tower of the town hall, 96 meters high, was crowned from 1449 by Jan van Ruisbroeck, architect of Philip the Good.
Source: Wikipedia