Charleroi Courthouse
Charleroi Courthouse, also known as the Palace of Justice of Charleroi, sits on Avenue Général Michel in Charleroi, Belgium. It was built from 1959 to 1963, designed by Jacques Depelsenaire, and is the fourth building to house Charleroi’s judiciary. Today it hosts the Hainaut Court of First Instance, Charleroi Division; the public prosecutor’s office; the justices of the peace Charleroi I and II; and the police court Charleroi Division. On the same site, from 1967 to 2006, the National Glass Institute, the Glass Museum and the Archaeological Museum were housed there. Since 2010, the complex has housed the commercial court (known as the labor court after 2018) and the labor prosecutor’s office.
The Palace of Justice sits beside the Glass Palace, on land that used to be the Maneuver Plain and was once used to train soldiers from the Caporal Trésignies barracks across Avenue Général Michel. The site is bounded by Avenue Général Michel to the east, Émile Tumelaire to the south, Boulevard Alfred de Fontaine to the west, and Boulevard Paul Janson to the north. Since 2015 the site has been named Jacques Depelsenaire Park.
A long judicial history precedes the current building. In 1800 Charleroi got a court of first instance after the reform of the French legal system. The court moved in 1800 to a former military building. In 1826 Charleroi built a new courthouse on Boulevard Central (now Boulevard Audent) by architect Jean Kuypers. Because court business grew, a larger courthouse was built nearby, opening in 1880. Parisian architect Albert Ballu designed the neoclassical palais with two cast-iron lions, Totor and Tutur. The building gradually proved too small and in poor condition, and it was decommissioned in 1969.
After World War II, plans were made to combine the National Glass Institute and a Glass Museum with a new courthouse. Jacques Depelsenaire was chosen to design both projects. Final plans were approved in 1954, and construction of the palace ran from 1959 to 1963. The Glass Institute moved in 1967, and the Glass Museum opened in 1973. In the late 20th century the glass industry declined, and authorities moved toward converting parts of the complex for commercial and labor courts. The Glass Museum moved to Bois du Cazier, and the Archaeological Museum lost its space. Renovation began in 2006, completed in 2010, and the site was renamed Palais du Verre as an extension of the Palace of Justice.
Architecturally, the complex reflects post-war modernism. It forms a U shape on the former maneuvers plain, with a central wing along Émile Tumelaire and access via an undulating canopy from Boulevard Général Michel. The façades mix blue stone-framed opaque walls with glass curtain walls. Notable artworks include Justice Pursuing Evil by André Hupet at the Boulevard entrance and Justice et Paix by Alphonse Darville near the entrance on Boulevard de Fontaine. The old lions Totor and Tutur were reinstalled, and interior features include cyclopean sculptures by Michel Stiévenart, Bouffioulx ceramics in the hall, and frescoes and other works by various artists. A Georges Lemaître tribute near the park entrance and a Boris Tellegen piece installed in 2014 as part of Asphalte#1 complete the site’s artistic program.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 10:35 (CET).