Leopold Park
| Parc Léopold (in French) Leopoldspark (in Dutch) | |
|---|---|
|
The pond with the European Parliament building in the background | |
| Type | Public park |
| Location | Brussels, Belgium |
| Coordinates | 50°50′18″N 4°22′48″E / 50.83833°N 4.38000°ECoordinates: 50°50′18″N 4°22′48″E / 50.83833°N 4.38000°E |
| Area | 6 hectares, 43 acres |
| Created | 18 November 1976 |
Parc Léopold (French) or Leopoldspark (Dutch) is a public park located within the Leopold Quarter (European Quarter) of Brussels, adjacent to the Paul-Henri Spaak building, the seat of the European Parliament.[1] [2]
The 10 hectares (25 acres) park was opened to the public in 1880 after the unpopular Royal Zoological Garden (Jardin Royal de Zoologie) had been removed. During the following years, a campus for the famous Solvay School of Commerce was established in the park but construction of additional buildings was soon curtailed for fear of encroachment on the park and its fragile wildlife. The buildings have remained to this day but only one still belongs to Solvay (and houses the Solvay Conference). The building of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences is also located in the park.[3]
The Solvay Library is also located in the park and houses the Security & Defence Agenda, Friends of Europe and Maison d'Europe think tanks. In 2017, the House of European History, a history museum, opened in the refurbished Eastman Building.[4]
The outstanding feature of the park is its pond, fed by the Maalbeek stream. Many rare trees (remnants of a botanic garden) and animals such as mallards, moorhens, coots, and even Egyptian geese and rose-ringed parakeets thrive in this urban environment.
References
- ↑ "Leopold Park". brussels.be. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
- ↑ "LEOPOLD PARK". sustainablecity.be. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
- ↑ "Leopoldpark". europe-cities.com. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
- ↑ "About The Bibliothèque Solvay". eua.be. Retrieved 18 March 2014.