Brussels the true feel of a European capital. In the premises of La Chronique daily newspaper, on 1 March 1896, the first public showing of moving pictures took place of the cinematographers Lumière, fresh from their initial triumph in Paris. A theatre inside the Galerie du Roi, the Royal Theatre of the Galleries, was designed by Cluysenaar and opened 7 June 1847. It became one of three royal theatres of Brussels, alongside the Royal Theatre of La Monnaie and the Royal Park Theatre, playing operetta and revues. Its interior was rebuilt in 1951. Another theatre, the Théâtre du Vaudeville, located in the Galerie de la Reine, was inaugurated in 1884 as the Casino Saint-Hubert. The Royal Galleries were designated a historic monument on 19 November 1986. In 2008, they were submitted for World Heritage inscription and are included in UNESCO's "Tentative List" in the cultural heritage category. Nowadays, the King's Gallery is home to the Museum of Letters and Manuscripts, which honours the greatest men and women of art, history, music, the humanities and science. Description The Royal Galleries consist of two major sections, each more than in length (respectively called the /, meaning "King's Gallery", and the /, meaning "Queen's Gallery"), and a smaller side gallery (the /, meaning "Princes' Gallery"). The main sections (King and Queen's Gallery) are separated by a peristyle at the point where the / crosses the gallery complex. At this point, there is a discontinuity in the straight perspective of the galleries. This "bend" was introduced purposefully in order to make the long perspective of the galleries, with its repetition of arches, pilasters and windows, less tedious. The Galerie du Roi () stretches from the Rue des Bouchers to the /. It notably houses the Royal Theatre of the Galleries. The Galerie de la Reine (), to the south, leads to the /, near the Grand-Place/Grote Markt (Brussels' main square), and on the other side of this street begins the Horta Gallery. Its best known shops are Delvaux leather goods and Neuhaus chocolatier. The Galerie des Princes () is located perpendicularly between the Galerie du Roi and the /. See also Arcade galleries in Brussels History of Brussels Belgium in "the long nineteenth century" References Notes Bibliography External links Galeries' official website Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert An account filled with detail. Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert Discovery guide with high quality pictures of the Royal Saint-Hubert Galleries.