Laeken

Here lies the Castle of Laeken, official home of the Belgian Royal Family, and its domain, a greenbelt, designed in English style, in the middle of Brussels. The castle was built between 1782-1784 by J.l. Montoyer. It was destroyed by fire in 1890 and rebuilt by Alphonse Balat. The French architect C.A. Girault gave it its present outline in 1902. It has been the royal residence since the accession to the throne of king Leopold I in 1831. The domain also contains the magnificent royal greenhouses of Laeken, a set of dome-shaped constructions, accessible to the public only a few days a year. They were designed as well by A. Balat, with the cooperation of Victor Horta.

A little south of the domain, you can find the Church of Our Lady (French: Eglise de Notre-Dame, Dutch: Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk), built for queen Marie-Louise, wife of Leopold I. The architect was Joseph Poelaert, designer of the famed Palais de Justice. The church contains the royal crypt.

A little north of the domain stand the contrasting Chinese Pavilion and the Japanese Tower. The Chinese Pavilion was commissioned by king Leopold II. The halls are designed in Louis XIV-style and Louis-XVI-style and decorated with Chinese motifs, chinaware and silverware. The Japanese Tower is a pagoda, originally built for the world fair of Paris in 1900. It was bought by King Leopold II and brought to Brussels. It gives a display of old military costumes, helmets and weapons.

Other places of interest are the Atomium, the former goods station of Thurn and Taxis, Brupark, the "King Baudouin" stadium and the Heysel exhibition park.