[4] The Administrative Commission, created in the absence of any other legal authority, chose the Place Saint-Michel/Sint-Michielsplein ("Saint Michael's Square"), as it was called then, to receive "the remains of the citizens who died in the memorable days of September".

[10] In 1839, the addition of two small fenced flowerbeds surrounded by lampposts on both sides of the monument changed the square's appearance once again, as did the installation of fountains in 1841, which were replaced by pools in 1861.

[14] The monument, built in blue stone and adorned with white Carrara marble statues and panels, stands in the middle of a courtyard surrounded by a funerary crypt dug in the centre of the Place des Martyrs.

It is surmounted by an allegorical figure of Liberty inscribing the days of 23, 24, 25 and 26 September 1830 in the golden book of History with, at her feet, the Leo Belgicus lying on the broken chains of slavery.

[1][15][9] Beneath the statue, the pedestal is adorned at the corners with four leaning angels representing Prayer, Combat, Victory and Inhumation, and on its faces with marble slabs bearing, to the west and east, the words "PATRIA" and "DECRETUM DIE XXV.SEPT.

[1][9] The square base is located for the most part below the level of the square, the four sides of which are decorated with bas-reliefs representing scenes from the Belgian Revolution; to the south: The oath of the patriots on the Grand-Place, to the north: The attack on the park commanded by Van Halen, to the east: The blessing of the tombs of the heroes by the dean of Saint Gudula, and to the west: Belgium crowning its heroes with laurels.

[1] Each pillar is surmounted by a crowning that recalls the motif that adorns the base of the Liberty statue's pedestal, consisting of a five-pointed star surrounded by a wreath of acanthus and laurel.

[14] At square level, the crypt is surrounded by four steps and a wrought iron balustrade reprising the star motif and confined by four lampposts on a base decorated with rams' heads.