The Belgium of our parents was well acquainted with the General Savings and Retirement Fund, a financial institution created in 1865 and privatized in 1990. Opened in 1893, the headquarters of the CGER was built by architect Henri Beyaert (featured on the 100 Belgian franc notes and also responsible for the National Bank building and the reconstruction of the Federal Parliament building). The architect Paul Hankar contributed to this Eclectic project by designing the ironwork. The elegant corner building topped with a dome now houses the Hotel Fleur de Ville; the beautifully restored interior spaces are noteworthy due to the superb parquet floors and stained glass, noble materials, fireplaces and monumental staircases, precious wood paneling, busts of honourable gentlemen and big names in finance.