Belvédère Château
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The Belvédère Château (; ; ) is a residence of the
Belgian royal family The monarchy of Belgium is the constitutional and hereditary institution of the monarchical head of state of the Kingdom of Belgium. As a popular monarchy, the Belgian monarch uses the title king/queen of the Belgians and serves as the ...
in
Laeken (French language, French, ) or (Dutch language, Dutch, ) is a residential suburb in the north-western part of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. It belongs to the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, municipality of the ...
, in the north-west of the
City of Brussels The City of Brussels is the largest List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, municipality and historical City centre, centre of the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region, as well as the capital of the French Community of Belgium, the ...
, which currently houses King Albert II and his wife, Queen
Paola Paola is a female given name, the Italian form of the name Paula. In Greek it is Polina. Notable people with the name include: People In arts and entertainment * Paola Del Medico (born 1950), Swiss singer *Paola e Chiara, pop music duo consist ...
. It is near the Royal Palace of Laeken, the official residence of the King and Queen of the Belgians. Another nearby residence, the Villa Schonenberg, is home to Princess
Astrid Astrid is a given name of Scandinavian origin, a modern form of the name Ástríðr. Derived from the Old Norse Ássfriðr, a compound name composed of the elements (a god) and (beautiful, fair). Variants * * Assan (diminutive) (Swedish) ...
, the sister of the current king,
Philippe Philippe is a masculine given name, cognate to Philip, and sometimes also a surname. The name may refer to: * Philippe of Belgium (born 1960), King of the Belgians (2013–present) * Philippe (footballer) (born 2000), Brazilian footballer * Prince ...
.


History

The Belvédère Château was originally built in the 1780s, then was bought by King Leopold II in 1867. The château was meant for his sister Carlotta of Mexico, but she chose to live in the suburb of
Tervuren Tervuren (; ) is a municipality in the province of Flemish Brabant, in the Flemish region of Belgium. The municipality comprises the villages of Duisburg, Tervuren proper, Vossem and Moorsel. On 1 January 2006, Tervuren had a total population o ...
, just outside
Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
, which left Belvédère empty for a while. In 1890, a fire broke out in the Royal Palace of Laeken, and Leopold II and his wife
Marie Henriette of Austria Marie Henriette of Austria (Marie Henriette Anne; 23 August 1836 – 19 September 1902) was Queen of the Belgians as the wife of King Leopold II. The marriage was arranged against the will of both Marie Henriette and Leopold and became unhappy ...
moved into Belvédère while repairs took place. Once the repairs were finished, Leopold and Marie Henriette moved back into the Royal Palace, while Belvédère became the residence of their youngest daughter, Princess
Clementine A clementine (''Citrus × clementina'') is a tangor, a citrus fruit hybrid between a willowleaf mandarin orange ( ''C.'' × ''deliciosa'') and a sweet orange (''C. × sinensis''), named in honor of Clément Rodier, a French missionary who f ...
. She lived in Belvédère until her father died and she got married, leaving the château for the Royal Palace. From there, the château was occupied by different members of the royal court. In 1958, Belvédère was used for exhibitions during the Brussels World's Fair (
Expo 58 Expo 58, also known as the 1958 Brussels World's Fair (; ), was a world's fair held on the Heysel/Heizel Plateau in Brussels, Belgium, from 17 April to 19 October 1958. It was the first major world's fair registered under the Bureau Internati ...
). The following year, the newlyweds Prince Albert of Liège and Paola Ruffo di Calabria moved into the château, which expanded to , having acquired parts of a local park. All three of the royal couple's children were born and raised in Belvédère. After the couple became the Belgian monarchs in 1993, they preferred to remain living in the château instead of moving into the Royal Palace.


See also

* List of castles and châteaux in Belgium *
Royal Trust (Belgium) The Royal Trust Society of Belgium (; ; {{langx, de, Königliche Schenkung) was a donation to the state proposed in a letter by King Leopold II of Belgium on 9 April 1900. In addition some properties were added to the donation in a letter of 15 Nove ...
*
Neoclassical architecture in Belgium Neoclassical architecture appeared in Belgium during the period of Austrian Netherlands, Austrian occupation in the mid-18th century and enjoyed considerable longevity in the country, surviving through periods of French and United Kingdom of the ...
*
History of Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a region of Belgium comprising 19 municipalities, including the City of Brussels, which is the capital ...
*
Culture of Belgium The culture of Belgium involves both the aspects shared by all Belgians regardless of the language they speak and the differences between the main cultural communities: the Dutch-speaking Belgians (mostly Flemish) and the French-speaking B ...
*
Belgium in the long nineteenth century In the history of Belgium, the period from 1789 to 1914, dubbed the "Long nineteenth century, long 19th century" by the historian Eric Hobsbawm, includes the end of Habsburg monarchy, Austrian rule and periods of French First Republic, French ...


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Belvedere Castle
Belvédère Belvédère (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Vésubie valley north of Nice in the Alpes-Maritimes Departments of France, department in southeastern France. The village of Belvédère is located at the entrance of the Gordolasque val ...
Royal residences in Belgium Buildings and structures completed in the 18th century