Laeken

Neighbourhood in Brussels, Belgium

This article is about the suburb. For the dog type, see Laekenois dog. For the singer, see Angèle Van Laeken.

"Laken" redirects here. For other uses, see Laken (disambiguation).

Neighbourhood in Brussels-Capital, Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium

Laeken

* Laeken (French)
* Laken (Dutch)

Neighbourhood

Former Municipal Hall of Laeken

Flag

Coat of arms

Location within Brussels

Laeken

Location within Belgium

Coordinates: 50°52′40″N 4°21′21″E﻿ / ﻿50.87778°N 4.35583°E﻿ / 50.87778; 4.35583
Country| Belgium
Region| Brussels-Capital Region
Arrondissement| Brussels-Capital
Municipality| City of Brussels
Area

• Total

| 9.25 km2 (3.57 sq mi)
Population

(2015)

• Total

| 60,295
Time zone| UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)| UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code|

1000, 1020, 1030

Area codes| 02
Website| Official website

Laeken (French, pronounced [lakɛn]) or Laken (Dutch, pronounced [ˈlaːkə(n)] ⓘ) is a residential suburb in the north-western part of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. It belongs to the municipality of the City of Brussels and is mostly identified by the Belgian postal code: 1020. Prior to 1921, it was a separate municipality.

## Toponymy

[edit]

### Etymology

[edit]

The name Laeken (Dutch: Laken) derives from the Germanic Lacha or Lache ("water", "lake"),[1] because the Molenbeek brook at the time formed a network of ponds at this height.[2] The oldest mention of the village is in a diploma from 1080, where the name Gilbert de Lacha appears. There is also the mention Lachus in 1117.[3]

## Main sights

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### Royal Palace

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Main article: Palace of Laeken

Royal Palace of Laeken

The Royal Palace of Laeken, official home of the Belgian royal family, is situated in Laeken. The palace was built in 1782–1784 by the French architect and urbanist Charles de Wailly. It was partly destroyed by fire in 1890, and was rebuilt and extended by the architect Alphonse Balat. The French architect Charles Girault gave it its present outline in 1902. It has been the royal residence since the accession to the throne of King Leopold I in 1831. The former King Albert II and Queen Paola live in the Belvédère, a château on the grounds of the park surrounding the palace, while King Philippe and Queen Mathilde live in the main palace.[4]

### Royal Greenhouses

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Main article: Royal Greenhouses of Laeken

Royal Greenhouses of Laeken

The Royal Domain also contains the large Royal Greenhouses of Laeken, a set of monumental dome-shaped constructions, accessible to the public only a few days a year. They were designed by Alphonse Balat, with the cooperation of the young Victor Horta.

### Church of Our Lady

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Main article: Church of Our Lady of Laeken

A little south of the Royal Palace, one can find the neo-Gothic Church of Our Lady, initially built as a mausoleum for Queen Louise-Marie, wife of Leopold I, whose children included King Leopold II and Empress Carlota of Mexico. The architect was Joseph Poelaert, designer of the famed Brussels' Palace of Justice. The church contains the Royal Crypt, where the members of the Belgian royal family are buried.[5] In February each year, a memorial mass for deceased members of the royal family is held at the church. In the nave of the church, the tomb of Cardinal Joseph Cardijn can also be found.

### Laeken Cemetery

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Main article: Laeken Cemetery

Laeken Cemetery with the Church of Our Lady in the background

Laeken Cemetery, located behind the church, is known as the Belgian Père Lachaise, after the famous cemetery in Paris, because it used to be the burial place of the rich and the famous. It harbours the graves of, among others, the symbolist painter Fernand Khnopff and the opera singer Maria Malibran, and also features an original cast of The Thinker (Le Penseur), by Auguste Rodin.

### Chinese Pavilion and Japanese Tower

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Main article: Museums of the Far East

Chinese Pavilion of the Museums of the Far East

A little north of the Royal Palace stand the Chinese Pavilion and the Japanese Tower. The Chinese Pavilion was commissioned by Leopold II and now forms part of the Museums of the Far East. The rooms of the Chinese Pavilion are designed in chinoiserie Louis XIV and Louis XVI styles. They are decorated with Chinese motifs, chinaware and silverware. The Japanese Tower is a pagoda (known as a Tō), inspired by a construction Leopold II saw at the Paris Exposition of 1900. Leopold II commissioned his architect Alexandre Marcel to build him a similar one in Laeken.[6]

### Other places of interest

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Other places of interest in Laeken include the King Baudouin Stadium, the Bruparck entertainment park (with the Atomium, Mini-Europe miniature park and Kinepolis cinema), the Centenary Palace, home to the Brussels Exhibition Centre (Brussels Expo), the Monument to the Dynasty in Laeken Park, as well as the Port of Brussels, next to which the Monument to Work by Constantin Meunier was erected.

The impressive buildings of the former goods station of Tour & Taxis and the surrounding area border the neighbourhood, and will be turned into residences, as well as commercial enterprises.

## Areas

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* Heysel/Heizel
* Royal Domain of Laeken and Laeken Park
* Mutsaard
* Old Laeken and Port of Brussels

## Notable inhabitants

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* Jeanne-Paule Marie "Jeannine" Deckers (1933–1985), singer-songwriter, and a nun, better known as 'The Singing Nun'
* Annie Cordy (1928–2020), actress and singer
* Étienne-François Letourneur (1751–1817), French lawyer, soldier, and politician of the French Revolution, died there.
* Xavier Mellery (1845–1921), symbolist painter, draughtsman, illustrator and decorative artist
* Paul Ooghe (1899–2001), World War I veteran
* Belgian royal family, including King Philippe, Queen Mathilde and their children
* Stromae (Paul Van Haver) (born 1985), singer-songwriter, rapper, and producer[7]
* Freddy Thielemans (1944–2022), politician and mayor of the City of Brussels

## See also

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* Belgium portal

* History of Brussels
* Culture of Belgium
* Belgium in the long nineteenth century

## References

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### Citations

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1. ^ Martine Wille and Jean-Marie Duvosquel (dir.), Autour du parvis Notre-Dame à Laeken (in French), Crédit Communal, 1994, p. 5
2. ^ Jespers 2005, p. 387.
3. ^ Maurits Gysseling, Toponymisch Woordenboek (in Dutch), 1960, p. 587
4. ^ "The opulent homes of Europe's royal families". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on January 22, 2013. Retrieved January 26, 2013.
5. ^ "Royal Crypt in Laeken". The Belgian Monarchy. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
6. ^ Mesmaeker, Delphine (2016). "The Japanese Tower at the Royal Domain in Laeken: A remarkable application of Japanese lacquer techniques in Belgium". Studies in Conservation. 61 (Supplement 3): 109–116\. doi:10.1080/00393630.2016.1227053.109-116&rft.date=2016&rft_id=info:doi/10.1080/00393630.2016.1227053&rft.aulast=Mesmaeker&rft.aufirst=Delphine&rft_id=https://doi.org/10.1080%2F00393630.2016.1227053&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Laeken" class="Z3988">
7. ^ Coljon, Thierry (December 24, 2010). "Ma journée avec Stromae, de Laeken à Vilvorde" [My day with Stromae, from Laeken to Vilvorde]. Le Soir (in French). Archived from the original on September 25, 2015. Retrieved February 22, 2020.

### Bibliography

[edit]

* Demey, Thierry (2004). Le domaine royal de Laeken. Bruxelles, ville d'Art et d'Histoire (in French). Vol. 37\. Brussels: Éditions de la Région de Bruxelles-Capitale.
* Demey, Thierry (2009). Léopold II (1865-1909). La marque royale sur Bruxelles (in French). Brussels: Badeaux. ISBN 978-2-9600414-8-4.
* Jespers, Jean-Jacques (2005). Dictionnaire des noms de lieux en Wallonie et à Bruxelles (in French). Brussels: Racine Lannoo. ISBN 978-2-87386-409-5.

## External links

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* Media related to Laeken/Laken at Wikimedia Commons
* Official website (in French, Dutch, and English)

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF
* FAST
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany
* United States
* Israel

Geographic|

* MusicBrainz area