Editing Leopold II of Belgium (section)

===Builder King===
[[File:Brussels Cinquantenaire R02.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.15|The [[Cinquantenaire|Cinquantenaire/Jubelpark]] [[Cinquantenaire Arcade|memorial arcade]] and museums in [[Brussels]], commissioned by Leopold II]]

Leopold commissioned a great number of buildings, urban projects and public works. According to the historians [[Wm. Roger Louis]] and [[Adam Hochschild]], this was largely possible thanks to the profits generated from the [[Congo Free State]], though this is disputed.<ref>Matthew G. Stanard, "King Leopold's Bust. A Story of Monuments, Culture, and Memory in Colonial Europe", in: ''Journal of Colonialism and Colonial History'', 2011, no. 2, {{doi|10.1353/cch.2011.0020}}</ref> These projects earned him the [[epithet]] of "Builder King" ({{langx|nl|Koning-Bouwheer|link=no}}, {{langx|fr|Roi-Bâtisseur|link=no}}). The public buildings were mainly in [[Brussels]], [[Ostend]], [[Tervuren]] and [[Antwerp]], and include the [[Cinquantenaire|Parc du Cinquantenaire/Jubelpark]] (1852–1880), [[Cinquantenaire Arcade|memorial arcade]] and complex, the [[Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Brussels|Basilica of the Sacred Heart]] (1905–1969)<ref>Vandenbreeden. p. 13</ref> and [[Duden Park]] in Brussels (1881); the [[Hippodrome Wellington]] racetrack (1883), the [[Royal Galleries of Ostend|Royal Galleries]] and Maria Hendrikapark in Ostend (1902); the [[Royal Museum for Central Africa]] and its surrounding park in Tervuren (1898); and [[Antwerpen-Centraal railway station]] in Antwerp (1895–1905).

[[File:Cartoon depicting King Leopold 2 of the Belgians laying the first stone of the Basilica of Koekelberg.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.85|Cartoon depicting Leopold II laying the first stone of the [[Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Brussels|Basilica of the Sacred Heart]] in Brussels]]
In addition to his public works, Leopold acquired and built numerous private properties for himself inside and outside Belgium. He expanded the grounds of the [[Royal Castle of Laeken]], and built the [[Royal Greenhouses of Laeken|Royal Greenhouses]], as well as the Japanese Tower and the Chinese Pavilion near the palace (now the [[Museums of the Far East]]). In the [[Ardennes]], his domains consisted of {{convert|6700|ha|-3}} of forests and agricultural lands and the [[châteaux]] of [[Château royal d'Ardenne|Ardenne]], [[Ciergnon Castle|Ciergnon]], Fenffe, Villers-sur-Lesse and Ferage. He also built important [[country estate]]s on the [[French Riviera]], including the [[Jardin botanique "Les Cèdres"|Villa des Cèdres]] and its [[botanical garden]], and the [[Villa Leopolda]].

Thinking of the future after his death, Leopold did not want the collection of estates, lands and heritage buildings he had privately amassed to be scattered among his daughters, each of whom was married to a foreign prince. In 1900, he created the [[Royal Trust (Belgium)|Royal Trust]], by means of which he donated most of his properties to the Belgian nation in perpetuity, and arranged for the royal family to continue using them after his death.