A wine bar? Public toilets? Tell Brussels what you want to see under Vossenplein
Brussels-City is sitting on a potential gold mine of a heritage site. But what should they do with it?
The underground
The bunker was used by Marollen residents to escape bombardments. It was fitted with electricity and running water, including toilets and showers.
It is in excellent condition and was classified as protected heritage nearly two years ago. But Brussels-City has done nothing with it since then.
The Brussels region’s cultural heritage department is now trying to put a little pressure on city hall to put the space to good use so that it doesn’t fall into disrepair. “If you get a building classified, you are required to take care of it,” Thierry Wauters, the director of erfgoed.brussels, told Bruzz. “Only the city of Brussels can decide what to do with the space. Right now, it’s just sitting there, so it’s not really being maintained. That leads to a risk of dilapidation.”
Potential tourist attraction
Erfgod.brussels asked Brusselaars what they thought should be done with the space via social media. The agency wanted to share photos of the capital’s heritage sites during the quarantine, but it also has an ulterior motive: Push Brussels-City into opening up the space to concessions.
“We are reminding the city that the complex is still under there, and that it could be a very original tourist attraction,” said Wauters. “It’s made up of 300 square-metres of underground space, with two staircases that are almost perfectly intact. Why not rent it to someone?”
Ideas that have rolled in to the agency’s Facebook page are a wine bar, escape room, bicycle parking, an event centre and public toilets. Feel free to make your own suggestion.
Photo courtesy Forbiddenplaces.net/Erfgoed.brussels
