BOTANICAL GARDEN OF BRUSSELS

Description

Essentials about the Botanical Garden of Brussels in brief

Adjacent to the center of Brussels directly to the north, the Botanical Garden is now a municipal park that no longer serves its original function as a botanical garden. Nevertheless, the garden retains a beautiful mix of English, French and Italian landscape architecture and a great diversity of trees and plants. The six-hectare park, laid out in terraces, is also known for the La Botanique cultural center, housed in the garden’s former orangery. Cultural events of various kinds are regularly held here.

The history and layout of the Botanical Garden of Brussels

The first botanical garden of the city of Brussels was located in the garden of the former palace of Charles Alexander of Lorraine in Rue de Ruysbroek. The expansion of the Royal Library in 1826 threatened the botanical garden to such an extent that the decision was made to move the garden to Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, then on the outskirts of Brussels.

The garden, which covered about six hectares, was opened in 1829 and enlarged twice in the middle of the 19th century. Despite government support, the Botanical Garden’s operating company ran into financial difficulties, so part of the land was sold for the construction of the Brussels North railroad station. The sale of plants was not stopped either, so that the goals of a botanical garden were in danger.

Therefore, in 1870, the Belgian state decided to acquire the garden. The specific landscape design was to be preserved, especially the division into three terraces, of which the upper one was in French style, the middle one in Italian style and the lower one in English style.

Between 1894 and 1898, 52 statues were added to the botanical garden. During the World War II the garden was severely damaged and the construction of the North-South connecting railroad between the Brussels North and Brussels South Station again reduced the area of the garden. Due to the limited space, the location of the Belgian National Botanical Garden was consequently moved to the Meise Botanical Garden.

Further reductions in the size of the garden followed with the construction of the Little Ring and the Boulevard Saint-Lazare, dividing the botanical garden in two. For the 1958 World’s Fair, landscape architect René Pechère redesigned the garden, but preserved its former structure.

The arts center “La Botanique”

The main building of the botanical garden, the Orangery, was built between 1826 and 1829 according to plans by Pierre-François Gineste. The central rotunda is particularly noteworthy. In 1978, the building was taken over by the French Community of Belgium to establish a cultural center. Since 1984, cultural activities such as festivals, film screenings, concerts and art exhibitions have been held here. The music festival “Nuits du Botanique” is the annual highlight of the season.