Editing Laeken (section)

==Main sights==

===Royal Palace===
{{Main|Palace of Laeken}}
[[File:0 Château Royal de Laeken.JPG|thumb|left|[[Palace of Laeken|Royal Palace of Laeken]]]]

The [[Palace of Laeken|Royal Palace of Laeken]], official home of the [[Monarchy of Belgium|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 [[Leopold I of Belgium|King Leopold I]] in 1831. The former [[Albert II of Belgium|King Albert II]] and [[Queen Paola of Belgium|Queen Paola]] live in the [[Belvédère Castle|Belvédère]], a [[château]] on the grounds of the park surrounding the palace, while [[Philippe of Belgium|King Philippe]] and [[Queen Mathilde of Belgium|Queen Mathilde]] live in the main palace.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The opulent homes of Europe's royal families |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/luxuryhomes/9810623/The-opulent-homes-of-Europes-royal-families.html?frame=2455376 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130122072142/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/luxuryhomes/9810623/The-opulent-homes-of-Europes-royal-families.html?frame=2455376 |archive-date=2013-01-22 |access-date=2013-01-26  |website=The Telegraph}}</ref>

===Royal Greenhouses===
{{Main|Royal Greenhouses of Laeken}}
[[File:Laeken Greenhouses.jpg|thumb|[[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===
{{Main|Church of Our Lady of Laeken}}

A little south of the Royal Palace, one can find the [[Gothic Revival architecture|neo-Gothic]] [[Church of Our Lady of Laeken|Church of Our Lady]], initially built as a [[mausoleum]] for [[Louise of Orléans|Queen Louise-Marie]], wife of Leopold I, whose children included [[Leopold II of Belgium|King Leopold II]] and [[Carlota of Mexico|Empress Carlota of Mexico]]. The architect was [[Joseph Poelaert]], designer of the famed Brussels' [[Law Courts of Brussels|Palace of Justice]]. The church contains the [[Royal Crypt (Belgium)|Royal Crypt]], where the members of the Belgian royal family are buried.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Royal Crypt in Laeken |url=https://www.monarchie.be/ |access-date=2024-01-20 |website=The Belgian Monarchy |language=en}}</ref> 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 [[Joseph Cardijn|Cardinal Joseph Cardijn]] can also be found.

===Laeken Cemetery===
{{Main|Laeken Cemetery}}
[[File:Cimetière de Laeken 11.JPG|thumb|[[Laeken Cemetery]] with the [[Church of Our Lady of Laeken|Church of Our Lady]] in the background]]

[[Laeken Cemetery]], located behind the church, is known as the ''Belgian [[Père Lachaise Cemetery|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 [[Symbolism (arts)|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===
{{Main|Museums of the Far East}}
[[File:0 Laeken Pavillon chinois 1.JPG|thumb|Chinese Pavilion of the [[Museums of the Far East]]]]

A little north of the Royal Palace stand the Chinese Pavilion and the [[Japanese Tower of Brussels|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 style|Louis XIV]] and [[Louis XVI style|Louis XVI]] styles. They are decorated with Chinese motifs, [[Chinese ceramics|chinaware]] and [[Household silver|silverware]]. The Japanese Tower is a [[pagoda]] (known as a [[Tō]]), inspired by a construction Leopold II saw at the [[Exposition Universelle (1900)|Paris Exposition of 1900]]. Leopold II [[Commission (art)|commission]]ed his architect [[Alexandre Marcel]] to build him a similar one in Laeken.<ref name="Taylor">{{Cite journal |last=Mesmaeker |first=Delphine |date=2016 |title=The Japanese Tower at the Royal Domain in Laeken: A remarkable application of Japanese lacquer techniques in Belgium |journal=Studies in Conservation |language=en |volume=61 |issue=Supplement 3 |pages=109–116 |doi=10.1080/00393630.2016.1227053|doi-access=free }}</ref>

===Other places of interest===
Other places of interest in Laeken include the [[King Baudouin Stadium]], the Bruparck entertainment park (with the [[Atomium]], [[Mini-Europe]] [[miniature park]] and [[Kinepolis Brussels|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.