Heated greenhouses in the park of the Royal Palace of Laeken
The
Royal Greenhouses of Laeken
(
French
:
Serres Royales de Laeken
,
Dutch
:
Koninklijke Serres van Laken
) are a vast complex of monumental heated
greenhouses
in the park of the
Royal Palace of Laeken
(northern part of the
City of Brussels
), Belgium. The historic complex contains
tropical
,
subtropical
and cold greenhouses,
and is home to the famous Royal Botanic Collection, which includes large collections of
camellias
,
orange trees
and many plants originating from the African parts of the former
Belgian Empire
.
The greenhouses were commissioned by
King Leopold II
, originally designed by the architect
Alphonse Balat
, and built between 1874 and 1905.
[2]
Following Balat's death in 1895, Leopold called upon the architects
Henri Maquet
and
Charles Girault
. They are now part of the Royal Domain and the royal private gardens belonging to the
Belgian royal family
, and are accessible to the public only a few days a year. This site is served by
Stuyvenbergh metro station
on
line 6
of the
Brussels Metro
.
History
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Inception and construction
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The original gardens of the
Royal Palace of Laeken
date back to the 18th century, but
King Leopold II
drastically changed their appearance. The king, having visited the
Crystal Palace
at the
Great Exhibition
of 1851 in London, wanted such a progressive building in his palace's garden, which would combine his love for plants with multifunctional spaces that could also be used as a banquet, theatre and dining halls. He called on the
botanist
Jean Linden
for this project, but his design was too unambitious. He then commissioned his architect
Alphonse Balat
. Balat's plans surpassed all that had been achieved at the time, even the
Palm house
in London's
Kew Gardens
(1844?1848) and
Carl Bouche
's botanical garden in
Berlin-Schoneberg
. The realisation came about in close consultation between Balat and the king, following frequent discussions, correspondence and preliminary designs.
[2]
The first construction phase took place between 1874 and 1893, ending with the completion of the so-called
Iron Church
, a domed
greenhouse
, which would originally serve as the
royal chapel
. The inauguration took place in 1880, but the complex was also expanded afterwards.
During that period, the king was preparing his
Congo Free State
, a private colony which was founded in 1885. The greenhouses were intended as a symbol of the king's colonial power: plants from
Central Africa
were said to illustrate that power. In particular, the Congo Greenhouse and the Embarcadere Greenhouse were built in 1886?1888 from this perspective. A third zone was constructed from 1892 to 1905. For this, following Balat's death in 1895, Leopold called upon the architects
Henri Maquet
and
Charles Girault
. The octagonal Palm Pavilion was furnished as a bedroom and connected to the palace by a subterranean corridor where Leopold received his mistresses.
After the king's death in 1909, the greenhouses were preserved, but the
Iron Church
was converted into a private royal bathing house.
Present-day
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The Winter Garden at the palace in Laeken still serves as the setting for royal receptions. Every year in the spring, the greenhouses are partially opened to the public for twenty days at the request of Leopold II. This tradition has been carried on by all
monarchs
who reigned after him.
[2]
The greenhouses are also sometimes used today for
contemporary art
exhibits and displays, such as
Alexandre Dang
's
The Dancing Solar Forget-Me-Not
for the International Day of Missing Children (in cooperation with
Child Focus
) in 2010.
Since 2021, a new heating system for the Royal Domain of Laeken has come into operation: the new network is directly connected to the
Neder-Over-Heembeek
incinerator
via 4.5 km (2.8 mi) of underground pipes allowing the residual heat released by the incinerator to be exported to the Royal Domain and thus heat the greenhouses and buildings.
[6]
[7]
Description
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The Royal Greenhouses of Laeken are among the major monuments of the 19th century in Belgium. They were built entirely in metal and glass, which represented a spectacular innovation for the time (as was the Crystal Palace in London). This complex takes on the appearance of a glass city set in a hilly landscape. It is characterised by monumental pavilions, glass domes, as well as wide galleries that run through the land like covered streets.
[2]
In the steel constructions, Balat introduced decorative motifs derived from plants and flowers. This formed a first step towards
Art Nouveau
architecture that was further developed by
Victor Horta
who served as an apprentice of Balat. The total floor surface of this immense complex is 2.5 ha (6.2 acres). Approximately 800,000 litres (210,000 US gallons) of fuel oil are needed each year to heat the buildings.
Orangery
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The existing
neoclassical
Orangery
from 1817?1819 by the architects Guislain-Joseph Henry and Francois Verly is connected to the Palace via the Theatre Greenhouse. The Dining Room Greenhouse is attached to it.
[8]
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View of the Orangery in the direction of the theatre
-
Winter Garden
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The largest greenhouse, the round-domed Winter Garden (1874) with a diameter of 57 metres (187 ft) and a height of 25 metres (82 ft), is made up of a number of concentric
cast iron
trusses
, which are additionally supported halfway through their span by a circular
Doric
colonnade. The start and end points of the trusses rest on the ground so that the greenhouse presents the image of a glass dome supported by
flying buttresses
. Its enormous dimensions made it possible to plant Congolese palm trees in the rotunda. This Winter Garden, the main building of the complex, was also of great importance for the development of
cast-iron architecture
.
[8]
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Closeup of the Winter Garden's roof
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Under the dome of the Winter Garden
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Interior of the Winter Garden
Other greenhouses
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Between 1885 and 1887, Balat designed the Palm Greenhouse, the Congo Greenhouse, the Diana Greenhouse, and the Embarcadere Greenhouse. The latter consists of two parallel compartments under a
barrel vault
, the second of which contains a dome supported by iron
Corinthian
columns. It is decorated with Chinese vases and two statues by the sculptor
Charles Van der Stappen
(
The Dawn
and
The Evening
). Finally, in 1893, the
Iron Church
was added, a
neo-Byzantine
ensemble surrounded by wreath chapels, the dome of which is supported by twenty columns of Scottish
granite
. This greenhouse is therefore also officially called the Chapel Greenhouse.
[8]
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Embarcadere Greenhouse and Congo Greenhouse
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Interior of the Embarcadere Greenhouse
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Interior of the Congo Greenhouse
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Interior of the Diana Greenhouse
Royal Botanic Collection
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Famous is the Royal Botanic Collection, with old plants from Africa and various species of flowers which are cultivated inside the royal greenhouses for use at
court
. Though the current collection has lost many
cultivars
since the death of Leopold II, the collection is still famous.
In 1909, there were 314 species of
camellias
in the royal collection, with more than 1000 plants. Today, only 305 remain. The camellias are the world's largest and oldest collection in a greenhouse. The
orange tree
collection of Leopold II was renowned with 130 trees aged 200 to 300 years, and one even 400 years old. In the 1970s, only 45 trees were still alive.
Visit
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The royal complex can only be visited each year during a two-week period in April?May, when most flowers are in full bloom. It is the opportunity to discover one of the most remarkable monuments of Belgian heritage and to admire the collections of exotic plants and flowers, some of which have been brought back from expeditions to the Congo for Leopold II.
Other times, the greenhouses are visited by heads of state during official visits. Famous visitors have included:
Gallery
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-
The long glass gallery in bloom
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Gallery of geraniums and fuchsias
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Staircase to the Palm Pavilion
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See also
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References
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Citations
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Bibliography
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- Borghouts, Karin; Smets, Irene; D'Hoore, Baudouin (2019).
Les Serres royales de Laeken
(in French). Kontich: BAI.
ISBN
978-90-8586-796-8
.
- Goedleven, Edgard (1988).
Les Serres royales de Laeken
(in French). Brussels: Duculot, Inbel.
ISBN
978-2-8011-0799-7
.
- Goedleven, Edgard (1997).
Les Serres royales de Laeken
(in French). Brussels: Racine & SFI.
ISBN
978-2-87386-101-8
.
- Hamerlijnck, Erlend; Van Gorp, Paul (2011).
De tuinman & de koning: Het domein van Laken & zijn bewoners
(in Dutch). Amsterdam: WPG Uitgevers.
ISBN
978-90-02-24006-5
.
- Lombaerde, Piet; Gobyn, Ronny (1995).
Leopold II Roi-Batisseur
(in French). Ghent: Pandora.
ISBN
978-90-5349-173-7
.
- Op de Beeck, Johan (2020).
Leopold II. Het hele verhaal
(in Dutch). Antwerp: Horizon.
ISBN
978-9-46396-209-4
.
- Ranieri, Liane (1973).
Leopold II urbaniste
(in French). Brussels: Hayez.
- Smets, Irene (2001).
Les Serres royales de Laeken
(in French). Ghent: Ludion.
ISBN
978-90-5544-338-3
.
- Vandewoude, Emiel; Vandenbreeden, Jos; Van Gorp, Paul (1981).
Les Serres royales a Laeken
(in French). Brussels: Donation Royale.
- Vandewoude, Emiel (1987).
De bouw van de Wintertuin te Laken, 1874-1876, een initiatief van Leopold II
(in Dutch). Brussels: Album Carlos Wyffels.
External links
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