Leopold Park (french: Parc Léopold, ; nl, Leopoldspark) is a public park of located within the
Leopold Quarter
The Leopold Quarter (french: Quartier Léopold, Dutch: ) is a quarter of Brussels, Belgium. Today, the term is sometimes confused with the European Quarter, as the area has come to be dominated by the institutions of the European Union (EU) an ...
(
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 is adjacent to the
Paul-Henri Spaak building, the seat of the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
.
It is served by the metro stations
Maalbeek/Maelbeek and
Schuman on lines
1 and
5 of the
Brussels Metro
The Brussels Metro (french: Métro de Bruxelles, nl, Brusselse metro) is a rapid transit system serving a large part of the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium. It consists of four conventional metro lines and three ''premetro'' lines. The me ...
.
The outstanding feature of the park is its pond, fed by the
Maelbeek stream. Many rare trees (remnants of a botanic garden) and animals such as
mallard
The mallard () or wild duck (''Anas platyrhynchos'') is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Arge ...
s,
moorhens,
coot
Coots are medium-sized water birds that are members of the rail family, Rallidae. They constitute the genus ''Fulica'', the name being the Latin term for "coot". Coots have predominantly black plumage, and—unlike many rails—they are usually ...
s, and even
Egyptian geese and
rose-ringed parakeet
The rose-ringed parakeet (''Psittacula krameri''), also known as the ring-necked parakeet (more commonly known as the Indian ringneck parrot), is a medium-sized parrot in the genus Psittacula, of the family Psittacidae. It has disjunct native ran ...
s thrive in this urban environment.
History
The Eggevoorde Estate had dominated the
Maelbeek valley in Brussels since the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
, but portions had been sold off in the following centuries. In 1851, a portion was sold off in exchange for shares in the Zoological and Horticultural Society, and the area became what is today Leopold Park. The park was intended to be a home for scientific and leisure activities.
Horticultural
Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...
gardens and a zoo were created along with a community hall, a reading room, and a café-restaurant. However, the zoo was poorly managed and the management company went bankrupt in 1876. The horticultural gardens, on the other hand, were quite successfully managed by
, and they became a commercial and scientific success story until 1898, when they were sold. The
City of Brussels
The City of Brussels (french: Ville de Bruxelles or alternatively ''Bruxelles-Ville'' ; nl, Stad Brussel or ''Brussel-Stad'') is the largest municipality and historical City centre, centre of the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region, as well a ...
bought the old zoological gardens and converted them into a public recreational park containing a variety of diversions, including the current
Museum of Natural Sciences
The Museum of Natural Sciences of Belgium (french: Muséum des sciences naturelles de Belgique, nl, Museum voor Natuurwetenschappen van België) is a museum dedicated to natural history, located in Brussels, Belgium. The museum is a part of t ...
.
![Solvay conference 1927](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/Solvay_conference_1927.jpg)
In 1884,
Ernest Solvay
Ernest Gaston Joseph Solvay (; 16 April 1838 – 26 May 1922) was a Belgian chemist, industrialist and philanthropist.
Born in Rebecq, he was prevented by his acute pleurisy from going to university. He worked in his uncle's chemical fac ...
and
Paul Héger
Paul Héger (1846–1925) was a Belgian biologist, and was born to Constantin Héger and Claire Zoë Parent.
Paul Hèger assisted Earnest Solvay (famous for Solvay Process) along with Hendrik Lorentz (Dutch physicist who shared noble with Pieter ...
, professors at the
Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), began a project to create an expanded university campus in the park. Several of the university's new institutes were created there, and stand to this day, including the original site of the
Solvay Institute of Sociology
The Solvay Institute of Sociology ''SIS; ''Institut de Sociologie Solvay''assumed its first "definitive form" ( Solvay 1902/1906: 26) on November 16, 1902, when its founder Ernest Solvay, a wealthy Belgian chemist, industrialist, and philanthropi ...
, as well as its sister institution, the Solvay Institute of Physiology, which was completed in 1894. It was in that building that the famous Fifth
Solvay Conference
The Solvay Conferences (french: Conseils Solvay) have been devoted to outstanding preeminent open problems in both physics and chemistry. They began with the historic invitation-only 1911 Solvay Conference on Physics, considered a turning point i ...
on Physics and on Chemistry took place in October 1927.
During the following years, a campus for the
Solvay School of Commerce
The Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management (abbreviated as SBS-EM and also known as simply Solvay) is a school of economics and management and a Faculty of the Université libre de Bruxelles, a French-speaking private research univ ...
was established but construction of additional buildings was soon curtailed for fear of encroachment on the park and its fragile wildlife. In 1930, the Lycée Émile Jacqmain secondary school moved into the former Institute of Physiology. These buildings have remained to this day but only one still belongs to Solvay (and houses the Solvay Conference).
Buildings
Leopold Park contains a number of historic buildings such as the Pasteur Institute, the former
Solvay School of Commerce
The Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management (abbreviated as SBS-EM and also known as simply Solvay) is a school of economics and management and a Faculty of the Université libre de Bruxelles, a French-speaking private research univ ...
, the
Solvay Institute of Sociology
The Solvay Institute of Sociology ''SIS; ''Institut de Sociologie Solvay''assumed its first "definitive form" ( Solvay 1902/1906: 26) on November 16, 1902, when its founder Ernest Solvay, a wealthy Belgian chemist, industrialist, and philanthropi ...
, and the Solvay Institute of Physiology, as well as the former Solvay Library, which houses the
Security & Defence Agenda
The Security & Defence Agenda (SDA) was a security and defence think-tank based in Brussels. Its activities included debates, international conferences and a range of publications. In October 2014, most of the activities of the SDA were incorporat ...
,
Friends of Europe
Friends of Europe is a Brussels-based, not-for-profit think-tank for European Union policy analysis and debate. The organisation, established in 1999, has no political or national allegiance and is independent of the EU institutions. Its declared ...
and Maisons de l'Europe think tanks.
Most of the buildings were converted into offices for the
European institutions
European integration is the process of industrial, economic integration, economic, political, legal, social integration, social, and cultural Regional integration, integration of states wholly or partially in Europe or nearby. European integrat ...
in the 1980s. The former Institute of Physiology now houses the Lycée Émile Jacqmain. In 2017, the
House of European History
The House of European History (HEH) is a history museum and cultural institution in Brussels, Belgium, focusing on the history of Europe. It is an initiative by the European Parliament, and was proposed in 2007 by the Parliament's then-presid ...
, a history museum, opened in the refurbished Eastman Dental Hospital.
The building of the
Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences
The Museum of Natural Sciences of Belgium (french: Muséum des sciences naturelles de Belgique, nl, Museum voor Natuurwetenschappen van België) is a museum dedicated to natural history, located in Brussels, Belgium. The museum is a part of t ...
is also located in the park.
File:Parc Leopold Bruxelles, ancienne bibliothèque Solvay.JPG, Former Solvay Library
File:Parc Leopold-Bruxelles01.JPG, Former Solvay School of Commerce
File:Parc Leopold-Bruxelles, lycée Jacqmain ancien institut de physiologie.JPG, Former Institute of Physiology, venue of the Fifth Solvay Conference
The Solvay Conferences (french: Conseils Solvay) have been devoted to outstanding preeminent open problems in both physics and chemistry. They began with the historic invitation-only 1911 Solvay Conference on Physics, considered a turning point i ...
in 1927, now the Lycée Émile Jacqmain
File:Eastmanbuilding.jpg, Former Eastman Dental Hospital, now the House of European History
The House of European History (HEH) is a history museum and cultural institution in Brussels, Belgium, focusing on the history of Europe. It is an initiative by the European Parliament, and was proposed in 2007 by the Parliament's then-presid ...
Remarkable trees
![Parc Léopold-Bruxelles ,platane d'OrientP5070020](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/Parc_L%C3%A9opold-Bruxelles_%2Cplatane_d%27OrientP5070020.JPG)
Below are some of the park's remarkable trees listed by the Monuments and Sites Commission:
See also
*
List of parks and gardens in Brussels
This is a list of parks and gardens in the Brussels-Capital Region divided by municipality.
A park or garden located on the territory of several municipalities is listed for each municipality.
Anderlecht
Audergem/Oudergem
Berchem-Sainte- ...
References
Notes
External links
{{commons category, Parc Léopold/Leopoldspark
Description of Leopold Park at the Belgian Board of Tourism website
Parks in Brussels
Urban public parks
City of Brussels
European quarter of Brussels
1880 establishments in Belgium