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BRUSSELS :
Buildings and Monuments |
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GENERAL Brussels (Home) SIGHTSEEING Monuments - Market Place - King's House - Guild Houses - Royal Park - Government - Sablon square - Palace of Justice - Royal Palace - Cinquantenaire - Royal Residence - Heysel-Atomium - St. Hubert gallery - Royal Square - Manneken Pis Churches - Cathedral - Basilica - Sablon Church - St. Nicholas - Church of Laken Museums Tourist Attractions |
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THE ROYAL RESIDENCE WITH THE CHINESE PAVILION AND JAPANESE TOWER THE ROYAL RESIDENCE
In the royal park the greenhouses draw
most attention. The construction of these magnificent botanical gardens
started in 1870. Among the participating architects were Alphonse Balat and
the young Victor HORTA, who would later become the leading Art Nouveau
architect in Belgium. The collection of beautiful tropical plants and
flowers can only be visited by the public during 10 days in April and
May. THE CHINESE PAVILION AND THE JAPANESE TOWER
Location Opening hours Transport. |
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© All texts and pictures Copyright
Trabel.com and
Arakea.com. |
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In
the suburb of Laken/Laeken, just outside the city center, lies the royal
domain with the "Chateau de Laeken", or the royal residence. Whereas the
palace in Brussels is the official office of the king, the royal residence
in Laken is the place where the royal family lives. It was built in 1772
by Albert von Sachsen-Teschen, the Governor of the Austrian Netherlands
as his residence. After the French take-over of power in the southern
Netherlands it was purchased by Napoleon in 1804. After the battle of
Waterloo in 1815 it became the property of King William I, king of the
united Netherlands. Another change of owner occurred 15 years later in 1830
when Belgium became independent. King Leopold I received it as a gift from
the Belgian state. After a fire in 1890 it was rebuilt and enlarged. It
became the permanent residence of the royal family during the reign of
King Leopold III.
On the northern
corner of the royal park two monuments can be seen, which are rather unusual
for Belgium, but nevertheless splendid. After his visit to the 1900
universal Exhibition in Paris King Leopold II decided to have his park
embellished with exotic monuments. He ordered the Parisian architect
Alexandre Marcel to construct the Japanese tower and the Chinese
Pavilion. The entrance of the Japanese tower had by build as the Japanese
pavilion at the Paris exhibition by a Japanese carpenter. The woodwork of
both buildings was made by specialists from Yokohama and Shanghai.
After restoration works the
two monuments can be visited. On display are Chinese porcelain items from
the 17th and 19th century and Japanese art objects.