- Ixelles Ponds
The Ixelles Ponds (in French: Étangs d'Ixelles, in Dutch: Vijvers van Elsene) are two freshwater ponds in the
Brussels municipality ofIxelles . The ponds we can see today are those spared by a 19th-century campaign of drying the wetlands of theMaalbeek valley between the Abbey of La Cambre andFlagey Square .The two long and narrow ponds, whose total lengths are approximately 700
metre s (2,200feet ), and widths are approximately 50metre s (170feet ), are aligned on a roughly North-South axis and are separated by a narrow strip of land. With the surrounding park, the Ixelles Ponds are the tip of a long strip of almost uninterrupted greenery reaching all the way from theSonian Forest deep into the urban tissue of Brussels.The ponds are an extremely popular recreation area for local residents. However, the water is polluted with
cyanobacteria and signs posted at regular intervals warn of a risk ofbotulism . All contact with the water is prohibited, as is sitting on the grass in the immediate vicinity of the water, although the latter rule is not strictly enforced. In spite of the pollution, waterfowl thrive around the ponds.Gallery
ee also
*
Flagey Square
*Abbey of La Cambre/Ter Kameren
*Bois de la Cambre
*Résidence de la Cambre External links
* [http://www.opt.be/tourisme/description.php?ID=737&CLANGUE=en&T=V&ELTOID=17539 Description of the ponds on the Belgian Tourism Board website]
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