Brussels Botanical Garden

Botanical Garden of Brussels with the main building Le Botanique

The Brussels Botanical Garden ( French jardin botanique de Bruxelles , Dutch Kruidtuin ) is a former botanical garden in the Belgian capital Brussels , parts of which are still preserved as a public park and whose main building is now used for events .

history

The first botanical garden in Brussels was located in the garden of the former palace of Karl Alexander of Lorraine on Rue de Ruysbroeck / Ruisbroekstraat . With the expansion of the Royal Library in 1826, the existence of this botanical garden was threatened, so that the private association Royal Society of Herb, Flower and Tree Nurseries of the Netherlands decided to build a new botanical garden on the outskirts of Brussels in Saint-Josse-ten- To build Noode / Sint-Joost-ten-Node and save as much of the original system as possible. The 6.37 hectare garden was opened on September 1, 1829 and expanded in 1842 and 1854. Despite government grants , the operating company ran into financial difficulties, so part of the land was sold for the construction of the Bruxelles-Nord / Brussel-Noord station . There was also no stopping the sale of plants , so that the goals of a botanical garden were in danger. Therefore, in 1870, the Belgian state decided to buy the garden. The specific landscaping was to be retained, in particular the division into three terraces , the upper one in the French style, the middle one in the Italian style and the lower one in the English style. Between 1894 and 1898 the botanical garden was equipped with 52 statues under the supervision of Charles van der Stappen and Constantin Meunier . During the Second World War , the facility was badly damaged and the area of the botanical garden was reduced again due to the construction of the north-south connecting line between Brussels North Station and Brussels South Station . Due to the limited space, the location of was the National Botanic Garden of Belgium therefore the Botanic Garden Meise laid. Further downsizing followed with the construction of the Small Ring and Boulevard Saint-Lazare / Sint-Lazaruslaan , which divided the botanical garden in two. For the 1958 World's Fair of put landscape architect René Pechère the garden to new, the former structure preserved and in line with the new architecture should be brought into the area. The Brussels Botanical Garden has been a listed building since 1964 and the Brussels-Capital Region has been responsible for its administration since 1991 .

Cultural Center "Le Botanique"

The main building, the orangery , was built between 1826 and 1829 according to plans by Pierre-François Gineste , who in turn was inspired by Tieleman Franciscus Suys . The central rotunda is remarkable . In 1978 the building was taken over by the French Community of Belgium to establish a cultural center . Since January 23, 1984 cultural activities such as concerts , festivals , art exhibitions and film screenings have taken place here. The cultural center and botanical garden can be reached from the Botanique / Kruidtuin subway station .