to a number of different assessments. According to these, some 4000 to 5000 buildings were destroyed, representing a third of the buildings in the city. Much of this was in a contiguous area where every building was destroyed, visible as the white area in the map at the top of the page. There were, of course, numerous islands of destruction from the shells throughout the city. The rubble in most cases completely covered and obscured even the location of the streets. Residences made out of wood with only the walls and chimneys made of stone had been largely consumed by the fires. The collection of buildings that survived consisted almost entirely of public buildings and churches, as those were made of stone and brick. The city's artistic heritage, accumulated over centuries, was severely damaged by the bombardment. It is impossible to estimate the number of artistic works inside the buildings that were destroyed by the bombardment. Among the losses were Brusselois tapestries, furniture, and drawings and paintings by artists including Rogier van der Weyden, Rubens, Anthony van Dyck and Bernard van Orley. Much of the history of the city was also lost with the destruction of a large part of the archives. The Papal nuncio estimated property losses at around 50 million florins, while the Spanish Ambassador in The Hague put it at 30 million. At this time, the annual rent for an ordinary house was between 120 and 150 florins, with a purchase price of around 2000 florins. This compares to a purchase price of about €200,000 today, giving a very rough estimate of between 3 and 5 billion euros in modern terms. Aftermath The French themselves seemed surprised at the success of the operation, which was well beyond what they had anticipated. Villeroi wrote: "The disorder that we have caused in this city is incredible, the people menace us with many threats of reprisal, I don't doubt they have the will to do so, but I don't see how they have the means." The French master of artillery wrote "I have been on many tours of duty, but I have never before seen so large a fire or so much desolation as there seems to be in that city." The young Duke of Berwick, a future Marshal of France who was present, disapproved, writing at the end of his life "A more appalling spectacle has never been seen,