Brussels' old town wall collapses after construction begins nearby

13th century fortification wall falls by primary school

The wall dates back to the 13th century (Archeo Vlaanderen)

A section of an ancient city wall in Brussels, thought to date back to the 13th century, has collapsed after construction work began at a nearby school.

The wall is thought to be a small part of the first walls of Brussels, historic fortifications developed to protect the city.

A significant strip of the wall, thought to be around 20m long and 10m high, collapsed early on Sunday morning into the courtyard of Sint-Joris, a primary school where building work was underway.

No injuries were reported, according to RTBF, and the rubble did not pose a danger to drivers on public roads.

Geoffroy Coomans de Brachène, who serves as alderman for town planning and heritage in Brussels, suggested that the construction work could have caused the collapse of the historic wall.

He told RTBF that while the incident was small, the city would need to rebuild the wall so that it was identical to its previous appearance.

The official shared photos of the rubble on Twitter.

He described it as one if the oldest walls in the Belgian capital and added that the collapse of the historic site was worrying.