Editing Laeken

{{Short description|Neighbourhood in Brussels, Belgium}}
{{About|the suburb|the dog type|Laekenois dog|the singer|Angèle Van Laeken}}
{{Redirect|Laken}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2021}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2021}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name                   = Laeken
| native_name            = {{small|{{unbulleted list|{{native name|fr|Laeken}}|{{native name|nl|Laken}}}}}}
| native_name_lang       = 
| settlement_type        = [[Neighbourhoods in Brussels|Neighbourhood]]
| image_flag             = Flag of Laeken (Belgium).svg
| image_shield           = Laken.blason.jpg
| image_skyline          = Former Townhall Laeken Brussels 2103-08.JPG
| imagesize              = 
| image_alt              = 
| image_caption          = Former Municipal Hall of Laeken
| etymology              = 
| nickname               = 
| pushpin_map            = Belgium Brussels#Belgium
| pushpin_label          = Laeken
| pushpin_map_alt        = 
| pushpin_map_caption    = Location within Brussels
| coordinates            = {{coord|50|52|40|N|4|21|21|E|type:city_region:BE|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type       = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name       = [[Belgium]]
| subdivision_type1      = [[Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium|Region]]
| subdivision_name1      = [[Brussels-Capital Region]]
| subdivision_type2      = [[Arrondissements of Belgium|Arrondissement]]
| subdivision_name2      = [[Arrondissement of Brussels-Capital|Brussels-Capital]]
| subdivision_type3      = [[List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region|Municipality]]
| subdivision_name3      = [[City of Brussels]]
| named_for              = 
| area_total_km2         = 9.25
| population_density_km2 = 
| population_as_of       = 2015
| population_total       = 60295
| timezone1              = [[Central European Time|CET]]
| utc_offset             = +1
| timezone_DST           = [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]]
| utc_offset_DST         = +2
| postal_code_type       = [[Postal codes in Belgium|Postal code]]
| postal_code            = 1000, 1020, 1030
| area_code              = 02
| area_code_type         = [[Telephone numbers in Belgium|Area codes]]
| website                = {{Official website|www.laeken.brussels}}
| references             = 
}}

'''{{lang|fr|Laeken|italic=no}}''' ([[French language|French]], {{IPA|fr|lakœn|pron|Laeken-FR.wav}}) or '''{{lang|nl|Laken|italic=no}}''' ([[Dutch language|Dutch]], {{IPA|nl|ˈlaːkə(n)|pron|Nl-laken.ogg}}) is a residential suburb in the north-western part of the [[Brussels-Capital Region]], Belgium. It belongs to the [[List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region|municipality]] of the [[City of Brussels]] and is mostly identified by the Belgian [[postal code]]: 1020. Prior to 1921, it was a separate municipality.

==Toponymy==

===Etymology===
The name ''Laeken'' ({{langx|nl|Laken|link=no}}) derives from the Germanic ''Lacha'' or ''Lache'' ("water", "lake"),<ref>Martine Wille and Jean-Marie Duvosquel (dir.), ''Autour du parvis Notre-Dame à Laeken'' (in French), Crédit Communal, 1994, p. 5</ref> because the Molenbeek brook at the time formed a network of ponds at this height.{{sfn|Jespers|2005|p=387}} The oldest mention of the village is in a diploma from 1080, where the name ''Gilbert de Lacha'' appears. There is also the mention ''Lachus'' in 1117.<ref>Maurits Gysseling, ''Toponymisch Woordenboek'' (in Dutch), 1960, p. 587</ref>

==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.

==Areas==
* [[Heysel Plateau|Heysel/Heizel]] 
* [[Palace of Laeken|Royal Domain of Laeken]] and [[Laeken Park]]
* [[Mutsaard]] 
* [[Old Laeken]] and [[Port of Brussels]]
* [[Verregat]]
* [[Tour & Taxis]]

==Notable inhabitants==
<!-- Please respect alphabetical order -->
* [[The Singing Nun|Jeanne-Paule Marie "Jeannine" Deckers]] (1933–1985), singer-songwriter, and a nun, better known as 'The Singing Nun'
* [[Annie Cordy]] (1928–2020), actress and singer
* [[Étienne-François Letourneur]] (1751–1817), French lawyer, soldier, and politician of the [[French Revolution]], died there.
* [[Xavier Mellery]] (1845–1921), [[Symbolism (arts)|symbolist]] painter, draughtsman, illustrator and decorative artist
* [[Paul Ooghe]] (1899–2001), [[World War I]] veteran
* [[Monarchy of Belgium|Belgian royal family]], including [[Philippe of Belgium|King Philippe]], [[Queen Mathilde of Belgium|Queen Mathilde]] and their children
* [[Stromae]] (Paul Van Haver) (born 1985), singer-songwriter, rapper, and producer<ref>{{Cite web |last=Coljon |first=Thierry |date=24 December 2010 |title=Ma journée avec Stromae, de Laeken à Vilvorde |trans-title=My day with Stromae, from Laeken to Vilvorde |url=http://lesoir.be/archives?url=/culture/musiques/2010-12-24/ma-journee-avec-stromae-de-laeken-a-vilvorde-810646.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925140002/http://www.lesoir.be/archives?url=%2Fculture%2Fmusiques%2F2010-12-24%2Fma-journee-avec-stromae-de-laeken-a-vilvorde-810646.php |archive-date=2015-09-25 |access-date=2020-02-22 |website=Le Soir |language=fr}}</ref>
* [[Freddy Thielemans]] (1944–2022), politician and [[List of mayors of the City of Brussels|mayor of the City of Brussels]]

==See also==
{{Portal|Belgium}}
* [[Neighbourhoods in Brussels]]
* [[History of Brussels]]
* [[Culture of Belgium]]
* [[Belgium in the long nineteenth century]]

==References==

===Citations===
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
* {{cite book|last=Demey|first=Thierry|title=Le domaine royal de Laeken|series=Bruxelles, ville d'Art et d'Histoire|volume=37|location=Brussels|language=fr|publisher=Éditions de la Région de Bruxelles-Capitale|year=2004|isbn=|url=https://patrimoine.brussels/liens/publications-numeriques/versions-pdf/bvah/le-domaine-royal-de-laeken}}
* {{cite book|last=Demey|first=Thierry|title=Léopold II (1865-1909). La marque royale sur Bruxelles|location=Brussels|language=fr|publisher=Badeaux|year=2009|isbn=978-2-9600414-8-4}}
* {{cite book|last=Jespers|first=Jean-Jacques|title=Dictionnaire des noms de lieux en Wallonie et à Bruxelles|location=Brussels|language=fr|publisher=Racine Lannoo|year=2005|isbn=978-2-87386-409-5}}

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline}}
* [http://www.laeken.brussels/ Official website] {{in lang|fr|nl|en}}

{{Neighbourhoods in Brussels}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Neighbourhoods of Brussels]]
[[Category:City of Brussels]]
[[Category:Former municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region]]
[[Category:Populated places in Belgium]]
[[Category:1921 disestablishments in Belgium]]