Hôtel Solvay, Brussels, Belgium

The Hôtel Solvay is a large Art Nouveau town house designed by Victor Horta on the Avenue Louise in Brussels. The house was commissioned by Armand Solvay, the son of the wealthy Belgian chemist and industrialist Ernest Solvay. For this wealthy patron Horta could spend a fortune on precious materials and expensive details. Horta designed every single detail; furniture, carpets, light fittings, tableware and even the door bell. He used expensive materials such as marble, onyx, bronze, tropic woods etc. For the decoration of the staircase Horta cooperated with the Belgian pointillist painter Théo van Rysselberghe. The Hôtel Solvay and most of its splendid content remained intact thanks to the Wittamer family. They acquired the house in the 1950s and did the utmost to preserve and restore this magnificent dwelling. The house is still private property and can only be visited by appointment and under very strict conditions. The edifice is on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The UNESCO commission recognized the Hôtel Solvay as UNESCO World Heritage in 2000 as one of the Major Town Houses of the Architect Victor Horta.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Jean vR (3 years ago)
Beautiful house with amazing interiors designed by Horta. This house was asked by the Solvay family to Horta with no budget limit, and it shows. Structure and pleasure mix together in perfect shapes and natural feeling environments.

Nick von Behr (3 years ago)
Only saw the outside as it was closed to visitors but a standout Art Nouveau building by Victor Horta, father of the architectural genre.

Glenn Fiddich (3 years ago)
unique and brilliant for the ones who love architecture.

Fedor Hopkins (3 years ago)
Nice hotel, prices are reasonable, staff are friendly, clean, beautiful. Exterior pleased

Lotta W (3 years ago)
An architectural gem ✨ I hope even more of the rooms will be restored in the future. Those that are, are marvelous. Since visitors are limited, you get really pretty views of the interior.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright Mark1792

Historic Site of the week

Rosenborg Castle

Rosenborg Palace was built in the period 1606-34 as Christian IV’s summerhouse just outside the ramparts of Copenhagen. Christian IV was very fond of the palace and often stayed at the castle when he resided in Copenhagen, and it was here that he died in 1648. After his death, the palace passed to his son King Frederik III, who together with his queen, Sophie Amalie, carried out several types of modernisation.

The last king who used the place as a residence was Frederik IV, and around 1720, Rosenborg was abandoned in favor of Frederiksborg Palace.Through the 1700s, considerable art treasures were collected at Rosenborg Castle, among other things items from the estates of deceased royalty and from Christiansborg after the fire there in 1794.

Soon the idea of a museum arose, and that was realised in 1833, which is The Royal Danish Collection’s official year of establishment.

Hôtel Solvay

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Historical Gems of Costa Verde

Historic Site of the week

Rosenborg Castle