Coudenberg or
Koudenberg (; Dutch for
cold hill) is a small hill in
Brussels where the Palace of Coudenberg was built. For nearly 700 years, the Castle and then the Palace of Coudenberg were the seat of government of the counts, dukes, archdukes, kings, emperors and governors who from the 11th century until its destruction in 1731, exerted their sovereignty over the area of the
Duchy of Brabant, now in the southern
Netherlands and northern
Belgium. After several years of recent excavations, the archaeological vestiges of the palace and its foundations are open to the public.