Royal Greenhouses in Laken

Inside view of the "Jardin d'hiver"

The Royal Greenhouses in Laken (French Serres Royales de Laeken , Dutch Koninklijke Serres van Laken ) are a huge complex of monumental greenhouses in the park of Laken Castle in Brussels and one of the city's tourist attractions. The complex was commissioned by the Belgian King Leopold II and designed by Alphonse Balat . The complex was built between 1874 and 1895, partly financed by the horrific crimes that Leopold II committed simultaneously in the Congo . It was completed with the so-called 'Eisenkirche', a roofed greenhouse that was originally intended to serve as a royal chapel. The total area is 2.5 hectares. 800,000 liters of oil are required annually to heat the buildings. The effort behind the glass houses also appears to be considerable apart from the heating and thus the greatest cost point. Among other things, immense amounts of water are needed to water and sprinkle the plants. In addition, the glass windows are painted white in the warm months of the year to reduce the amount of sunlight. In autumn the color has to go away again in order to provide enough sun in winter.

The complex can only be visited from April to May for a three-week period. At this time, most of the flowers are in bloom.