Joseph Poelaert

Joseph Poelaert (21 March 1817 – 3 November 1879) was a Belgian architect. He was entrusted with important projects in Brussels, such as Saint Catherine's Church, the Church of Our Lady of Laeken, the Congress Column, the Royal Theatre of la Monnaie and above all, the Palace of Justice. He was also the great-uncle of the architect Henri Van Dievoet. Life Early life Joseph Poelaert was born in Brussels on 21 March 1817. His father was Philip Poelaert (1790–1875), a former architecture student at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels. The young Poelaert also trained there under Tilman-François Suys, and then in Paris under Louis Visconti and Jean-Nicolas Huyot. He first came to attention with his winning competition entry for the Congress Column in 1849. He was made city architect of Brussels in 1856.