Laeken (French: Laeken, Dutch: Laken) is a residential suburb in north-east Brussels, Belgium. It belongs to the municipality of the City of Brussels. Map showing the location of Brussels in Belgium Emblem of the Brussels-Capital Region Flag of The City of Brussels Brussels (Dutch: Brussel, pronounced ; French: Bruxelles, pronounced in Belgian French and often by non-Belgian speakers of French; German: Brüssel) is the capital of Belgium, the French Community of... A municipality or general-purpose district (compare with: special-purpose district) is an administrative local area generally composed of a clearly defined territory and commonly referring to a city, town, or village government. ... The City of Brussels (Bruxelles-Ville or Ville de Bruxelles in French, Stad Brussel in Dutch) is one of the municipalities (the largest one) of the Brussels-Capital Region in Belgium. ...

Castle of 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 Léopold 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. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2272x1704, 1290 KB) Summary Castle of Laeken, Brussels, Belgium. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2272x1704, 1290 KB) Summary Castle of Laeken, Brussels, Belgium. ... Léopold I, first King of the Belgians, (December 16, 1790 - December 10, 1865), was born in Ehrenburg Castle in the Bavarian town of Coburg, and named Leopold Georg Christian Friedrich (Léopold Georges Chrétien Frédéric in French, Leopold Georg Christiaan Frederik in Dutch). ... 1831 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... A greenhouse in Saint Paul, Minnesota. ... Maison and Atelier Horta, designed in 1898, now houses the Horta Museum, dedicated to his work. ...

A little south of the domain, you can find the neo-gothic Church of Our Lady (French: Eglise de Notre-Dame, Dutch: Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk), built for queen Louise-Marie, wife of Léopold I. The architect was Joseph Poelaert, designer of the famed Brussels Palais de Justice. The church contains the royal crypt, where the members of the Belgian royal family are buried. The cemetery behind the church is known as the "Belgian Père Lachaise" because it used to be the burial place of the rich and the famous. It harbours the graves of, among others, Fernand Khnopff and Maria Malibran and also features an original cast of Thinker by Auguste Rodin, purchased in 1927 by the antiquarian and art collector Jef Dillen to use as his own memorial. Next to the entrance, there is a small museum dedicated to the sculptor Ernest Salu (1845-1923) and his successors. Many of the monuments that embellish the cemetery, fine examples of 19th century funerary art, are products of the Salu workshop. Neo-gothic architecture is an American branch of the Gothic revival style that was imported from England in the 1830s. ... Léopold I, first King of the Belgians, (December 16, 1790 - December 10, 1865), was born in Ehrenburg Castle in the Bavarian town of Coburg, and named Leopold Georg Christian Friedrich (Léopold Georges Chrétien Frédéric in French, Leopold Georg Christiaan Frederik in Dutch). ... Joseph Poelaert (21 March 1817 – 3 November 1879) was a Belgian architect. ... Crypt is also a commonly used name of water trumpets, aquatic plants. ... Looking down the hill at the Père-Lachaise cemetery The cimetière du Père-Lachaise (pronounced ) is the largest cemetery in the city of Paris (there are larger cemeteries in Paris suburbs). ... Fernand Edmond Jean Marie Khnopff (September 12, 1858 - November 12, 1921) was a Belgian symbolist painter. ... The soprano Maria Malibran (1808-1836) was one of the most famous opera singers of the 19th century. ... The Thinker, bronze cast by Alexis Rudier, Laeken Cemetery, Brussels, Belgium The Thinker (French: Le Penseur) is one of Auguste Rodinxcs famous bronze sculptures. ... Auguste Rodin Rodins The Burghers of Calais in Calais, France. ... 1927 (MCMXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1845 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ...

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 houses a display of old military costumes, helmets and weapons. King Leopold II (April 9, 1835 – December 17, 1909), succeeded his father, Leopold I of Belgium, to the Belgian throne in 1865 as Leopold II, King of the Belgians, and remained king until his death. ... The Eiffel Tower, the international symbol of the city, with the skyscrapers of La Défense business district 3 miles behind. ...

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. The Atomium Built for the 1958 Brussels Worlds Fair (Expo 58), the 103-meter (335-foot) tall Atomium monument represents a unit cell of an iron crystal (body-centered cubic), magnified 165 billion times, with vertical body diagonal, with tubes along the 12 edges of the cube and from... The Princely House of Thurn und Taxis is a German family that was a key player in the postal (mail) services in Europe in the 16th century and is well known as owners of breweries and builders of countless castles. ... The Heysel Exhibition Park is the place in the north of the centre of Brussels, Belgium, where the Worlds Fair of 1935 and 1958 (the Expo 58) took place. ...