Belgium

The Grand Place, often referred to as the most beautiful square in the world, features the Gothic-style Town Hall with its golden walls towering above all other buildings. Opposite it stands the majestic King's House, symbolizing power. Surrounding them are the guild houses, where influential merchants in medieval Europe formed guilds and controlled the cities. In the Grand Place, buildings used as guild houses for various professions such as knife makers, barrel makers, luxury furniture makers, and bakers are preserved. Similarly, in Bruges, which also thrived through trade, there is the Market Square, consisting of the Town Hall and guild houses. Both squares share the same structure. The sight of the golden majestic towers symbolizes the inescapable class society, and one can easily imagine influential merchants opening their shops around them. Standing in such places, one can feel how social classes clearly divided living areas within the city. In front of the tall, ornately decorated buildings that we, as tourists, find beautiful, merchants sold large carpets and furniture obtained through trade. In the medieval era, merchants began to hold political power, replacing the upper nobility. For the nobility, merchants, who engaged in trade considered impure in Catholic society, might have been seen as lowly. However, it was undoubtedly the power of merchants that shaped medieval European cities. This is what Weber referred to as the "community of citizens," a world created by urban citizens with a common social status.