Petits Carmes, Rue des/Karmelietenstraat

   The rue des Petits Carmes is cited in an act of 1400 and it owes its name to a convent of Carmelites, known as Petits Carmes, who followed the austere reforms of Saint Theresa of Avila, which included walking unshod. The convent was built about 1612 at the initiative and the expense of Archduke Albert and Archduchess Isabella on the site of the former town house that had belonged to the Hornes family, which was torn down by order of the duke of Alba. The convent was closed in 1796. The street was renamed rue de la Jeunesse during the French regime. The convent building was demolished in 1811 and, in 1814, replaced by a large prison where Paul Verlaine was incarcerated. The prison was, in turn, replaced by military barracks, which were sold in 1977.