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Le Botanique () is a cultural complex and
music venue A music venue is any location used for a concert or musical performance. Music venues range in size and location, from a small coffeehouse for folk music shows, an outdoor bandshell or bandstand or a concert hall to an indoor sports stadium. Ty ...
in
Saint-Josse-ten-Noode Saint-Josse-ten-Noode ( French, ) or Sint-Joost-ten-Node ( Dutch, ), often simply called Saint-Josse in French or Sint-Joost in Dutch, is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the north-eastern part o ...
,
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 ...
, Belgium. The building was previously the main
orangery An orangery or orangerie is a room or dedicated building, historically where orange and other fruit trees are protected during the winter, as a large form of greenhouse or conservatory. In the modern day an orangery could refer to either ...
of the
National Botanic Garden of Belgium Meise Botanic Garden (; ), until 2014 called the National Botanic Garden of Belgium (; ), is a botanical garden located in the grounds of Bouchout Castle in Meise, Flemish Brabant, just north of Brussels. It is one of the world's largest botan ...
and even as part of the garden had hosted cultural events. In 1958, the National Botanic Garden moved to Meise,
Flemish Brabant Flemish Brabant ( ; ) is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on (clockwise from the North) the Belgian provinces of Antwerp, Limburg, Liège, Walloon Brabant, Hainaut and East Flanders. Flemish Brabant also ...
. Le Botanique opened in 1984, and the gardens in front are now the Botanical Garden of Brussels.


History

The first
botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...
in Brussels belonged to the École Centrale of the department of the Dyle that was created during the French rule of Belgium at the end of the 18th century. Due to their costs, those French schools were soon dropped and some
municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...
, including 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 ...
, took over the garden that was about to be abandoned. In 1815, Belgium became part of the
United Kingdom of the Netherlands The United Kingdom of the Netherlands is the unofficial name given to the Kingdom of the Netherlands as it existed from 1815 to 1839. The United Netherlands was created in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars through the fusion of territories t ...
. Around the same period, the maintenance costs of the garden were regarded as too high by the city administration. In 1826, a group of local
bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and Aristocracy (class), aristocracy. They are tradition ...
decided to create a new kind of botanical garden in Brussels. At the time the bourgeoisie was the new leading-class, and since companies were a popular financing method, the garden was created as a company. The creators thought it would be their contribution to the city's reputation. Although it was rooted on a private enterprise, it was also intended to be a national institution dedicated to science and botanical studies. Both the City of Brussels and the Home Office supported the Botanical Garden financially. But, the
independence of Belgium The Belgian Revolution (, ) was a 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. The ...
(1830–31) was detrimental to the Dutch-born institution; it was regarded as orangist, as a mere playground for the local elites, and as not useful for the country's agriculture, among other critiques. From then on, the garden would have to battle to survive. The State and the City did not want to support it anymore unless it proved useful to the whole country, so the Botanical Garden was obliged to develop its commercial activities. It sold plants by the thousands, and created several money-consuming attractions and events for the local elite, like aquaria, a dance room, fairs, a fish nursery, concerts etc. In the 1860s, the aging buildings required renovation. The board of the Society of Horticulture tried to raise the money, but the costs were just too high for the company. In 1870, the Belgian Government took over the company. The National Botanic Garden was created in the very same year. Barthélemy Dumortier, a Belgian politician and botanist, had played a major role in this process. He wanted a "Belgian
Kew Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is ...
" to be created in the capital, that is to say a botanical garden dedicated to taxonomy. That is why, some months before the garden was bought by the State, the Government had purchased the famous Von Martius Herbarium that was held in
Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
. So, in 1870, Belgium had a great herbarium and an appropriate building. This marked the dawn of a new era for Belgian botany.


Cultural centre

Since 1984, Le Botanique has been the cultural centre for the
French Community of Belgium In Belgium, the French Community (, , CFB) refers to one of the three constituent constitutional linguistic communities. Since 2011, the French Community has used the name Wallonia-Brussels Federation (, , FWB), which is controversial because ...
. Until 2017, it managed the concert agenda for the nearby Cirque Royal, an entertainment venue able to hold seated audiences of 2,000, and more standing. Nowadays, Le Botanique features a busy schedule of concerts, most taking place in either the 650-capacity
orangery An orangery or orangerie is a room or dedicated building, historically where orange and other fruit trees are protected during the winter, as a large form of greenhouse or conservatory. In the modern day an orangery could refer to either ...
, the tall, circular rotunda with space for 300, or the vaulted Witloof Bar with 200 standing places. Other rooms in the building are typically used for art exhibitions or film screenings. The annual ''Les Nuits Botanique'' ("The Botanical Nights") festival, held during the spring, sees a large number of musicians performing. In addition to the regular rooms, a marquee is frequently erected in the garden. File:Interior view, Le Botanique - Botanical Garden of Brussels - Brussels, Belgium - DSC06686.jpg, Inside the rotunda File:Musée Botanique.jpg, Museum File:Les Nuits Botanique.jpg, ''Les Nuits Botanique''


See also

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List of concert halls A concert hall is a cultural building with a stage (theatre), stage that serves as a performance venue and an auditorium filled with seats. This list does not include other venues such as sports stadia, dramatic theatres or convention ...
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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 ...
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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

* * {{Authority control Concert halls in Brussels Saint-Josse-ten-Noode Culture in Brussels