It was originally an unused open space, with areas of wetlands, grassland and sand, where a hermit made his home.

[4] Legend has is that the chapel became famous after a local devout woman named Beatrijs Soetkens had a vision in which the Virgin Mary instructed her to steal the miraculous statue of Onze-Lieve-Vrouw op 't Stocxken ("Our Lady on the little stick") in Antwerp, bring it to Brussels, and place it in the chapel of the Crossbowmen's Guild.

In 1470, Duke Charles the Bold charged a body with the creation of a street running from his nearby Coudenberg Palace to the church.

[5] In the 16th century, Brussels' most prominent noblemen established themselves on the upper Sablon and on the Rue aux Laines.

In 1566, the Culemborg Mansion on the Rue des Petits Carmes/Karmelietenstraat was the site of the drafting of the Compromise of Nobles, which ultimately led to the Dutch Revolt.

[6] The proximity of the cemetery was already an irritation to its aristocratic neighbours in 1554, but it would be another century and a half before the government of Brussels recognised that the situation had become unbearable.

They reported that corpses "were often neglected and left in only half-covered graves, from which dogs had several times pulled parts off and run around in broad daylight with arms and legs in their mouths".

In the 19th century, it was incrementally abandoned by the aristocracy in favour of newer, more chic neighbourhoods, such as the Leopold Quarter.

In the 20th century, the Square du Grand Sablon/Grote Zavelsquare was occupied by a more modest populace, characterised by small workshops and warehouses.

[15] The Grand Sablon is nowadays a genuine neighbourhood with residents and small businesses, while at the same time being a popular place to stroll and a tourist attraction.

[3] As is the case with many other public squares in Brussels, the Grand Sablon has been partially transformed into a parking lot.

On 20 November, it hosts the beginning of the Saint Verhaegen student parade (often shortened to St V), which celebrates the founding of the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) universities.

To ensure that the statues were stylistically coherent, Beyaert asked the painter Xavier Mellery to design all of them, though they were executed by different sculptors.

[18] In the centre of the garden stands a fountain-sculpture by Charles-Auguste Fraikin of the Counts of Egmont and Horn, who were symbols of resistance against the Spanish tyranny that sparked the Dutch Revolt.

This monument was initially in front of the King's House on the Grand-Place/Grote Markt (Brussels' main square), the site of their execution.