Michel, have been practically a rebuilding.
The Belgian people appear to have realized for a very long time the
importance of preserving their historic and artistic treasures. By a
royal decree of 1824 bodies in charge of church temporalities are
reminded that they are managers merely, and while they are urged to
undertake in good time the simple repairs that are needed for the
preservation of the buildings in their charge, they are strictly
forbidden to demolish any ecclesiastical building without authority
from the Ministry which deals with the subject of the fine arts. By
the same decree they are likewise forbidden to alienate works of art
or historical monuments placed in churches. Nine years later, in 1835,
in view of the importance of assuring the preservation of all national
monuments remarkable for their antiquity, their association, or their
artistic value, another decree was issued constituting a Royal
Commission for the purpose of advising as to the repairs required by
such monuments. Nearly 200,000 francs are annually voted for
expenditure for these purposes. The strict application of these
precautionary measures has allowed a number of monuments of the
highest interest in their relation to art and archaeology to be
protected and defended, but it does not appear that the Government
controls in any way those monuments which are in the hands of private
persons.
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