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Botanical Garden of Brussels

Tuesday, 21 March 2023 - 11:00 am (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination: European Union / Europäische Union
Category/Kategorie: General, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks Reading Time:  4 minutes

🔊 Listen to this Post The Botanical Garden of Brussels (French: Jardin botanique de Bruxelles, Dutch: Kruidtuin van Brussel) is a former botanical garden in Brussels, Belgium. It was created in 1826 and stood on the Rue Royale/Koningsstraat in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, near Brussels’ Northern Quarter financial district, until its relocation in 1938 to the National Botanic Garden of Belgium in Meise, Flemish Brabant. Since 1984, the main orangery building has been a cultural complex and music venue of the French Community of Belgium known as Le Botanique. It can be accessed from Brussels-North railway station and Botanique/Kruidtuin metro station on lines 2 and 6 of the Brussels Metro.

The main orangery building (Le Botanique) is one-story high and its south-facing neoclassical facade is preceded by two terraces. It consists of a central rotunda with a dome, and is flanked by two wings lined with windows, each ending in a slightly offset pavilion with Ionic columns. Access to the first terrace is done from the garden via four ramps: two facing the side pavilions and two others, converging, facing the rotunda. In addition, two straight lateral staircases and a central convex staircase lead to the second terrace. Greenhouses are attached to the two side wings. Others are located below the level of the second terrace, between the stairs giving access to it. Though it has been transformed to meet its new function as a cultural centre (including concert halls and showrooms), the interior of the building retains most of its original appearance. The former herbarium room in the west wing was transformed into a cafeteria, and the two pavilions into the entrance hall and a multipurpose room. The transit between the different rooms is done through the former greenhouses attached to the side wings and the rotunda.

Heavily damaged by work on the North–South connection, the gardens, as they appear today, are the work of the landscape architect René Pechère The French-style formal garden, planted with flowering shrubs, is laid out in front of the cultural centre’s greenhouses and orangery. The middle section, inspired by Italian designs, features a star-shaped rose garden and a flowerbed containing forty different species of iris. The third, lower section of the park is designed in the style of an English landscape garden, with winding pathways, ornamental lakes and shrub-lined lawns.

Fifty-two sculptures were executed between 1894 and 1898, a project overseen by two well-known sculptors: Constantin Meunier and Charles van der Stappen. The sculptures portray allegorical figures of plants, animals, and seasons. Some of the 43 sculptors involved include Albert Desenfans, Julien Dillens, Paul Du Bois, Jules Lagae, Léon Mignon, Victor Rousseau, François Rude, and Charles Samuel.

Read more on visit.brussels – Botanical Garden of Brussels and Wikipedia Botanical Garden of Brussels (Smart Traveler App by U.S. Department of State - Weather report by weather.com - Global Passport Power Rank - Travel Risk Map - Democracy Index - GDP according to IMF, UN, and World Bank - Global Competitiveness Report - Corruption Perceptions Index - Press Freedom Index - World Justice Project - Rule of Law Index - UN Human Development Index - Global Peace Index - Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index). Photos by Wikimedia Commons. If you have a suggestion, critique, review or comment to this blog entry, we are looking forward to receive your e-mail at comment@wingsch.net. Please name the headline of the blog post to which your e-mail refers to in the subject line.

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