The Jardin de la vallée du Maelbeek ( French) or Maalbeekdaltuin (

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

) is a small green space on the corner of the Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat and the / at the heart of the European Quarter of

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 inaugurated on 13 May 1951. The park is testimony to the local residents' struggle against the rapid urbanisation (also known as

Brusselisation In urban planning, Brusselization ( UK and US) or Brusselisation ( UK variant) (french: bruxellisation, nl, verbrusseling) is "the indiscriminate and careless introduction of modern high-rise buildings into gentrified neighbourhoods" and has b ...

) in the quarter that lacked urban planning and new green spaces. The site was originally destined to be used for a new headquarters for the

Council of the European Union The Council of the European Union, often referred to in the treaties and other official documents simply as the Council, and informally known as the Council of Ministers, is the third of the seven Institutions of the European Union (EU) as ...

(which eventually moved into the

Justus Lipsius building The Justus Lipsius building, located in Brussels, Belgium, was the headquarters of the Council of the European Union from 1995, and the ''de facto'' home of the European Council from 2002 (''de jure'' as of 2004), until their relocation to the a ...

across the road) but in the face of unanimous opposition the

Belgian Government The Federal Government of Belgium ( nl, Federale regering, french: Gouvernement fédéral, german: Föderalregierung) exercises executive power in the Kingdom of Belgium. It consists of ministers and secretary of state ("junior", or deputy-mini ...

tried to sell, what was then a temporary car park, it to property developers before it was converted into a local park. A miniature river in the park reflects the Maelbeek river which once flowed through the area, but is now channelled through an underground collector. File:Jardin du Maelbeek 7-9 A.jpg, Looking towards the Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat, the

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...

(left) and

Lex Lex or LEX may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Lex'', a daily featured column in the ''Financial Times'' Games * Lex, the mascot of the word-forming puzzle video game ''Bookworm'' * Lex, the protagonist of the word-forming puzzle video ga ...

(right) buildings tower over the park

References

Notes

{{reflist Parks in Brussels Urban public parks City of Brussels European quarter of Brussels 1951 establishments in Belgium Protected areas established in 1951

See also

References

Notes