In the early 1950s, a new project was about to permanently transform the Coudenberg hill: the Mont des Arts was taking shape. The architectural duo Ghobert and Houyoux designed a monumental urban complex linking the upper and lower parts of the city, with the Royal Library, the General State Archives and a Congress Palace. The buildings were inaugurated in 1958, just in time for the Brussels World’s Fair, and arranged around a garden by René Pechère. In 2009, the Congress Palace underwent a major renovation and received a monumental glass-cube entrance designed by the Brussels firm A2RC. The interiors were redesigned, but the large monumental frescoes by two of Belgium’s best-known artists were carefully preserved. René Magritte’s work was titled “Les Barricades mystérieuses” by the master of Surrealism himself. Paul Delvaux’s fresco stretches over 41 metres and shows numerous figures in a semi-architectural setting. Together, they form two unique settings in Brussels’ cultural landscape, exceptionally open to visitors.