Most capital cities have a zoo. But not Brussels.
The city lost its animal reserve many years ago. It had opened in 1850 on a rolling site on the edge of the city where the Parc Leopold now stands. The old valley of the Maelbeek River was transformed into a romantic English-style park with winding paths and sloping lawns landscaped by Alphone Balat.
Various exotic animals were introduced including giraffes and seals. Well-off citizens visited the zoo to talk, stroll and look at the wildlife. But the zoo was badly managed, leading to many animals dying, and it was eventually forced to close down.
Nothing has survived except the two neoclassical entrance pavilions on Rue Belliard decorated with lion’s heads and the words ‘Jardin Royal de Zoologie’.
The park was transformed into a science campus in the late 19th century. The Belgian industrialist Ernest Solvay provided much of the funding for a series of five scientific institutes built in eclectic 19th century styles. One of these buildings is now the setting for the House of European History.
Derek Blyth’s hidden secret of the day: Derek Blyth is the author of the bestselling “The 500 Hidden Secrets of Belgium”. He picks out one of his favourite hidden secrets for The Brussels Times every day.
