- Cinquantenaire
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Parc du Cinquantenaire (French)
Jubelpark (Dutch)
The centrepiece triumphal arch and horseshoe-shaped arcadeType Public leisure park, pedestrian square Location City of Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium Coordinates 50°50′26″N 4°23′34″E / 50.84056°N 4.39278°ECoordinates: 50°50′26″N 4°23′34″E / 50.84056°N 4.39278°E Area 30 hectares (74 acres)[1] Created 1880 Parc du Cinquantenaire (French for "Park of the Fiftieth Anniversary", pronounced [paʁk dy sɛ̃kɑ̃tnɛʁ]) or Jubelpark (Dutch for "Jubilee Park") is a large public, urban park (30 hectares) in the easternmost part of the European Quarter in Brussels, Belgium.
Most buildings of the U-shaped complex which dominate the park were commissioned by King Leopold II and built for the 1880 National Exhibition commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of Belgian independence. The centrepiece triumphal arch was erected in 1905. The structures were built in iron, glass and stone, symbolising the economic and industrial performance of Belgium. The surrounding 30 hectare park esplanade was full of picturesque gardens, ponds and waterfalls. It housed several trade fairs, exhibitions and festivals at the beginning of the century. This settled however in 1930 when it was decided that Cinquantenaire would become a leisure park.[1]
The Royal Military Museum has been the sole tenant of the northern half of the complex since 1880. The southern half is currently occupied by the Cinquantenaire Art Museum and the AutoWorld Museum. The Temple of Human Passions, a remainder from 1886, and the Great Mosque of Brussels from 1978 are located in the north-western corner of the park (see map below).
Line 1 of the Brussels Metro and the Belliard Tunnel from Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat pass underneath the park, the latter partly in an open section in front of the Arch. The nearest metro stations are Schuman to the west of the park, and Mérode immediately to the east.
The triumphal arch was planned for the National Exhibition of 1880 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the independent state of Belgium
Contents
History
The inauguration of the Park at the 1880 National Exhibition. Notice the substitute arch, the intact southern Bordiau wing, Quenast Columns and frontmost fountain.Originally it was part of the military exercising ground outside of the center of the city, the so-called "Linthout" plains. For the world exhibition of 1880, the plain was converted to an exhibition center. The original pavilions of the exhibition have now mainly been replaced with the Arch and the large halls on both sides of the arch, leaving only the glass constructed Bordiau halls as a memento of 1880.
The Arch was planned for the world exhibition of 1880 and was meant to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the independence of Belgium. In 1880, only the bases of the columns had been constructed and during the exhibition the rest of the arch was completed with wooden panels. During the following years, the completion of the monument was the topic of a continuous battle between King Leopold II and the Belgian government, who did not want to spend so much money on it.
The park was also the site of the Brussels International (1897), for which the building wings were extended, although with the arch still incomplete.
The original architect was the Belgian Gideon Bordiau, who spent close to 20 years on the project and died in 1904. His successor, chosen by Leopold, was the French architect Charles Girault. Girault changed the design from a single arch to a tri-parte arch, began a course of round-the-clock construction in a final push. The sculptors included:
- the quadriga, entitled Brabant Raising the National Flag, by Jules Lagae and Thomas Vincotte
- figures of Hainaut and Limbourg by Albert Desenfans
- figures of Antwerp and Liège by Charles van der Stappen
- figures of East Flanders and West Flanders by Jef Lambeaux
- figures of Namur and Luxembourg by Guillaume de Groot
The monument was finally completed by way of private funding in 1905, just in time for the 75th anniversary of the Belgian independence.
Current tenants and usage
Today the various buildings of the Cinquantenaire host three musea and one mosque (see below). The surrounding park esplanade is used for several purposes in the summer, such as military parades[citation needed] and drive-in movies.[2] It is also the starting point for the 20 km of Brussels, an annual run with 30,000 participants.[3]
Drive-in movies (Cinquantenaire park)Military museum
Main article: Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and of Military HistoryAt the exhibition of 1910, a section of military history was presented to the public and met with great success. Given the enthusiasm of the population, the authorities formed a museum of the army within an international context of extreme tension which leads to the Great War. The museum was originally installed on the site of the Abbaye de la Cambre and moved on the Cinquantenaire Park in 1923.
Entrance to the northern Bordiau HallThe aviation section in the North HallIt originally consisted of a set of objects collected by the officer Louis Leconte approximately 900 pieces and the collection was later heavily enriched by legacies, gifts and exchanges. Louis Leconte put particular to choose among the equipment abandoned by the Germans in 1918.
Today, it is possible to find collections of uniforms, weapons, vehicles and military equipment of all ages and all countries.
The north wing built by Gideon Bordiau is occupied by the aviation hall since 1972 when the Air and Space is inaugurated. The collection set includes various types of aircraft for some dating back to the beginning of the twentieth century. The collection as a whole is one of the largest in the world.
Art museum
Main article: Cinquantenaire Museum
The art museum's dome in the south-western part of the complexThe Cinquantenaire Museum is an art museum that occupies most of the southern part of the complex. It is part of the Royal Museums for Art and History, which are a Belgian federal institute of the Belgian Federal Science Policy Office.
The museum consists of several parts, which include a national collection of artifacts from prehistory to the Merovingian period (751 AD), a collection artifacts from the antiquity og the Near East, Egypt, Greece and Rome. Artifacts from non-European civilisations such as China, Japan, Korea, pre-Columbian America and the Islamic world are on display. There is also a collection of European decorative arts from the Middle Ages to the 20th century, showing sculptures, furniture, tapestries, textiles, costumes, old vehicles etc.
AutoWorld
Main article: AutoWorld (museum)
Entrance to the Palais Mondial (South Hall), housing AutoWorldAutoWorld is a vintage car museum in that occupies the southern hall of the complex.
It holds a large and varied collection of 350 oldtimers, European and American automobiles from the late 19th century until the seventies. Including Minervas, such models as a 1928 Bentley, a 1930 Bugatti and a 1930 Cord, and several limousines which belonged to the Belgian royal family.
Mosque
Main article: Great Mosque of BrusselsThe Great Mosque of Brussels located in the north-western corner of the park. It is the oldest mosque in Brussels, and is seat of the Islamic and Cultural Centre of Belgium.
The original building was built by architect Ernest Van Humbeek in an Arabic style, to form the east pavilion of the National Exhibition in 1880. The pavilion housed then a monumental fresco; “Panorama of Cairo” which was a major success. However, the lack of maintenance in the twentieth century caused the building to gradually deteriorate.
In 1967, at an official visit to Belgium by at King Faisal ibn Abd al-Aziz of Saudi Arabia, King Baudouin decided the fact that the building was to turn it into a place of worship. The mosque, designed by Arabic architect Tunisian Boubaker, was inaugurated in 1978 in the presence of Khalid ibn Abd al-Aziz and Baudouin.
Today, it also hosts a school and an Islamic research center whose objectives are to know the Muslim faith. The centre also provides courses of Arabic to adults and children, as well as initiations to Islam.
Map
Map of the park and the complexN. Bordiau wingS. Bordiau wingNorth hallSports groundArchBELLIARD TUNNELFuture plans
Further information: Brussels and the European Union#Future
Cinquantenaire is envisioned to be 'Europeanised', and its North Hall (pictured) could possibly be turned into a major "socio-cultural facility".In September 2007, the European Commissioner for Administrative Affairs Siim Kallas, together with Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region Charles Picqué, unveiled plans for rebuilding the European district.[4] They included 'Europeanising' parts of the Cinquantenaire complex, and installing a major "socio-cultural facility" in the North Hall, enabled to hold "major congresses and, perhaps, European Summits, events, exhibitions", after moving the Aerospace Museum out to Tour et Taxis in the north of the city. The Cinquantenaire would under the plans become one of three European pedestrian squares, being the one for events and festivities.[5]
Wider development surrounding the complex involves a new metro station called Jubelpark/Cinquantenaire and an underground car park. It is possible that the European Council may have to move to this area from Résidence Palace for security reasons.[6]
See also
- AutoWorld
- Brussels and the European Union
- Cinquantenaire Museum, part of the Royal Museums of Art and History
- Great Mosque of Brussels
- Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and of Military History
- Temple of Human Passions
References
- ^ a b "Cinquantenaire buildings". AutoWorld. http://www.autoworld.be/en/7_1.asp. Retrieved 2008-07-05.
- ^ "Drive-In Movies Is Celebrating Its "20th"". BrusselsLife. http://www.brusselslife.be/E/article/id/1948. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
- ^ Renseignements généraux
- ^ "EU promises 'facelift' for Brussels' European quarter". EurActiv. 2007-09-06. http://www.euractiv.com/en/pa/eu-promises-facelift-brussels-european-quarter/article-166526?Ref=RSS. Retrieved 2007-09-27.
- ^ Brussel Nieuws. Brussel verruimd de horizon. Retrieved on 2007-12-11
- ^ Clerbaux, Bruno. "The European Quarter today: Assessment and prospects" (PDF). European Council of Spatial Planners. Archived from the original on 2008-04-09. http://web.archive.org/web/20080409023738/http://www.ceu-ectp.org/inc/cgi/pl/pl20061209.pdf. Retrieved 2007-12-09.
External links
- Cinquantenaire buildings, history — Autoworld
- History of the Cinquantenaire park and the Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History
- Pictures of the Cinquantenaire park
External images
Search for the park in Europeana.eu Ecli.net 
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AdministrationTransportMetro · Brussels Airport · Charleroi Airport · North-South connection · Trams · Brussels Ring · Small RingOther topicsListsPortal Categories:- Cinquantenaire
- 1880 establishments in Belgium
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