The Academy Palace or Palace of the Academies (french: Palais des Académies, nl, Paleis der Academiën) is a neoclassical palace in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, Belgium. It was originally built between 1823 and 1828 for Prince William II of Orange. Today, it houses five Belgian academies including the

Royal Academies for Science and the Arts of Belgium The Royal Academies for Science and the Arts of Belgium (RASAB) is a non-governmental association which promotes and organises science and the arts in Belgium by coordinating the national and international activities of its constituent academies su ...

(RASAB). In English, it is also often called the Academy House.''Academy House in Brussels''
at kuleuven.be The palace is situated on the / in the Royal Quarter (eastern part of Brussels' city centre), next to the /, the

Royal Palace of Brussels The Royal Palace of Brussels (french: Palais royal de Bruxelles, , nl, Koninklijk Paleis van Brussel , german: Königlicher Palast von Brüssel) is the official palace of the King and Queen of the Belgians in the centre of the nation's capita ...

and

Brussels Park Brussels Park (french: Parc de Bruxelles, ; nl, Warandepark) is the largest urban public park in central Brussels, Belgium. Formerly known and still sometimes colloquially referred to as the Royal Park (french: Parc royal, nl, Koninklijk Park ...

. This area is served by Brussels Central Station, as well as by the

metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...

stations Parc/Park (on lines 1 and 5) and Trône/Troon (on lines 2 and 6).

History

The Palace of William II

The rather austere neoclassical palace and its stables were built between 1823 and 1828 for Prince William II of Orange in recognition of his brilliant action on the battlefield at Waterloo, from funds granted by the nation. It was the joint work of two architects, and

Tilman-François Suys Tilman-François Suys (in French) or Tieleman Frans Suys (in Dutch) (1 July 1783 – 22 July 1864) was a Belgian architect who also worked in the Netherlands. Biography Suys completed his architectural education in Paris, where he studied un ...

, at a total cost of 1.2 million florins. Brussels Academiënpalais Palais des Académies 06

The princely family of William of Orange and his princess, Anna Pavlovna, sister of tsars

Alexander I Alexander I may refer to: * Alexander I of Macedon, king of Macedon 495–454 BC * Alexander I of Epirus (370–331 BC), king of Epirus * Pope Alexander I (died 115), early bishop of Rome * Pope Alexander I of Alexandria (died 320s), patriarch of ...

and Nicholas I, occupied the palace a scant two years before the

Belgian Revolution The Belgian Revolution (, ) was the conflict which led to the secession of the southern provinces (mainly the former Southern Netherlands) from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the establishment of an independent Kingdom of Belgium. T ...

of September 1830 forced them to flee to the Netherlands. From 1830 to 1839, the palace was under sequestration by the newborn Belgian State, and a detailed inventory was drawn up. The public was allowed to tour the palace, and its interiors were considered the most sumptuous that had ever been seen in Belgium. An agreement on 5 November 1842 ceded the structure to the Belgian State, while its contents, adjudged the personal goods of William, were shipped to his Palace of Soestdijk in the Netherlands. After housing the 1st Regiment of Chasseurs-Carabiniers in 1848–1852, and having been refused by the

Duke of Brabant The Duke of Brabant (, ) was the ruler of the Duchy of Brabant since 1183/1184. The title was created by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in favor of Henry I of the House of Reginar, son of Godfrey III of Leuven (who was duke of Low ...

when offered to him in 1853, the palace remained in use for public festivities. The architect Gustave De Man, a member of the ''Académie Royale de Belgique'' ("Royal Academy of Belgium"), was entrusted with transformations, finished in 1862, which fitted the building to house the ''Musée Moderne'' ("Modern Museum").

The Academy Palace (1876–present)

Through a

royal decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used for ...

issued on 30 April 1876, the palace was put at the disposal of the two existing French-speaking Belgian academies: the

Royal Academy of Science, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium The Royal Academy of Science, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium (french: Académie royale des sciences, des lettres et des beaux-arts de Belgique, sometimes referred to as ') is the independent learned society of science and arts of the French Comm ...

(french: Académie royale des Sciences, des Lettres et des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, link=no), which had been founded in 1772, and the Royal Academy of Medicine of Belgium (french: Académie royale de Médecine de Belgique, link=no) founded in 1841. Three further academies came to share the space in the 20th century: the French-speaking Royal Academy of French Language and Literature of Belgium (french: Académie royale de langue et de littérature françaises de Belgique, link=no or ARLLFB) founded in 1920; the Dutch-speaking Royal Academy of Science, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium ( nl, Koninklijke Academie voor Wetenschappen, Letteren en Schone Kunsten van België, link=no) founded in 1938 and called since 1999 the

Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts The Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts ( nl, Koninklijke Vlaamse Academie van België voor Wetenschappen en Kunsten, or KVAB) is one of an independent learned society of science and arts of the Flemish Community in Belgium. ...

( nl, Koninklijke Vlaamse Academie van België voor Wetenschappen en Kunsten, link=no or KVAB); and the Dutch-speaking Royal Academy of Medicine of Belgium ( nl, Koninklijke Academie voor Geneeskunde van België, link=no), also founded in 1938. Since 10 October 2001, the palace has been listed as a protected monument by the Monuments and Sites Directorate of the Brussels-Capital Region.

Garden

The Academy Palace is surrounded by a garden adorned with quite a few sculptures, including a statue of the astronomer Adolphe Quételet by

Charles-Auguste Fraikin Charles Auguste Fraikin (14 June 1817 – 22 November 1893) was a Belgian neoclassical sculptor. Life Charles Auguste Fraikin was born in Herentals, Belgium, on 14 June 1817. He took drawing lessons from the age of twelve at the Royal Academy o ...

(1880),

bust Bust commonly refers to: * A woman's breasts * Bust (sculpture), of head and shoulders * An arrest Bust may also refer to: Places * Bust, Bas-Rhin, a city in France *Lashkargah, Afghanistan, known as Bust historically Media * ''Bust'' (magazin ...

s of the chemist Jean Servais Stas by

Thomas Vinçotte Baron Thomas Jules Vinçotte (1850–1925) was a Belgian sculptor and medallist. Life Vinçotte was the son of Jean-Marie Vinçotte, born in Borgerhout and brother of the engineer Robert Vinçotte. Thomas initially trained at the Académie ...

on a

pedestal A pedestal (from French ''piédestal'', Italian ''piedistallo'' 'foot of a stall') or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In ...

Victor Horta Victor Pierre Horta (; Victor, Baron Horta after 1932; 6 January 1861 – 8 September 1947) was a Belgian architect and designer, and one of the founders of the Art Nouveau movement. His Hôtel Tassel in Brussels, built in 1892–93, is often ...

(1897), and the lawyer and politician Jules Destrée by Armand Bonnetain (1937), as well as ''The Surprise'', a work with a dog and a turtle by Jean-Baptiste Van Heffen (1869). Around the pond, on the side of the /, there are three statues on high pedestals: a replica of '' The Discobolus'' by Matthieu Kessels (1867), ''The Victor'' by Jean Geefs, and '' Cain Cursed'' by

Louis Jehotte Louis Jehotte (7 November 1803 or 1804 – 3 February 1884) was a prominent Belgian sculptor working in a realist tradition that was inflected, who was responsible for the bronze equestrian monument to Charlemagne erected on the in Liège, Belg ...

(1850). The garden is enclosed by a

balustrade A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its con ...

. At the entrance, two monumental

allegorical As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory t ...

lion sculptures by Félix Bouré flank the entrance gates. The young

Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor, generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a uniqu ...

also contributed to the execution of the sculptural group on a pedestal, symbolising Science, Trade and Agriculture (1874). File:Bruxelles Palais des Académies 1002.jpg, ''Cain Cursed'' by Louis Jéhotte (1850) File:Wlovesmon 38.jpg, ''The Discobolus'' by Matthieu Kessels (1867) File: Bruxelles Palais des Académies 1201.jpg, ''The Surprise'' by Jean-Baptiste Van Heffen (1869) File:Bruxelles Palais des Académies 1214JPG.JPG, Bust of Jean Servais Stas by

(1897)

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

Le Palais des Académies/Paleis der Academiën
{{Authority control Palaces in Brussels City of Brussels Protected heritage sites in Brussels Neoclassical architecture in Belgium Neoclassical palaces Belgian culture 1828 establishments in the Netherlands