During the year 2018, we also focus on visiting interesting tourist spots in Belgium. On Sunday 22nd of April, we headed to Laeken in Brussels and visited this hot tourist spot.
Every spring, the Royal Greenhouses of Laeken are open to the public for 3 weeks. This time from 21 April till 11 May 2018 in the Castle of Laeken.It is an excellent opportunity to see the wonderful architecture of Alphonse Balat, the mentor of Victor Horta, and the many plants in the greenhouses.
Why visit the Royal Greenhouses ?
At 10 AM we entered the main gate of the royal park and paid 2,5 euro per adult. Below 18 you don’t pay entrance fee. What can you admire in the park?
During the 19th century, progress in construction techniques, especially the use of metal and glass as construction materials, made a new type of building possible: the greenhouse.
In 1873, architect Alphonse Balat designed for King Leopold II a complex of greenhouses which complement the castle of Laeken, built in the classical style. The complex has the appearance of a glass city set in an undulating landscape.
The monumental pavilions, glass cupolas, wide arcades that cross the site like covered streets, are much more than an anecdote on the architectural applications of iron and glass or on little greenhouses of exotic plants. What the Royal Greenhouses express concerns architecture and, specifically, a major construction programme: the “Ideal Glass Palace”.
They are the culmination of various meetings, letters, sketches and plans exchanged between architect Alphonse Balat and King Leopold II. But above all, they inspired the new Belgian architecture of the day, and their influence spread, with Art Nouveau, throughout the world. First you walk outside along the Royal Palace and the immense large garden. Here you can admire the blossoms of the trees and enjoy the silence of nature.
At the end of the walking path, you enter the greenhouses where a worldwide plant collection is maintained. This present-day plant collection at the Greenhouses in Laeken is valuable from three viewpoints :
- Some of the plants belonging to King Leopold II’s original collections still exist.
- The current collections still respect the spirit that prevailed when the original collections were planted.
- Finally, the Royal Greenhouses still contain an enormous number of rare and valuable plants.
After several minutes walking you can find the Pier Greenhouse. Built in 1886-1887, the Pier Greenhouse was intended to receive guests when the King was holding court in the Winter Garden or the Dining Room Greenhouse.
The staircase leads to the Winter Garden. At the ends of the Pier are two statues by Charles Van der Stappen, Dawn and Evening. Medinillas (a tropical plant from the Philippines) are laid out in Chinese vases brought back by King Leopold II from a trip to the Far East while he was still Duke of Brabant.
The Winter Garden
Designed by architect Alphonse Balat and built between 1874 and 1876, the Winter Garden was the first greenhouse in the imposing city of glass which would be built over thirty years on the Laeken estate. The dimensions of this greenhouse allowed tall palm trees, the majority of which date from the time of Leopold II. As soon as it was completed, this greenhouse was used for royal receptions. Admire the amazing roof and tropical plants within this garden.
Opening hours
More info on the exact opening hours you can find on the following website of the Royal Kingdom :
Final words
Come in early Sunday morning if you want to visit in the weekend. When we exited the park, a long queue of tourists or Belgians waited to purchase a ticket. We can definitely recommend you a visit to this Royal location.
Throughout the year we will visit other interesting hot spots in Belgium. Keep on following us.
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