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The neighbourhood around the Résidence Palace today is not as grey and monotonous as it might appear to be at first glance. Within walking distance of the press centre there are several internationally famous sights. For example, the fact that Brussels was once the capital of Art Nouveau is still clearly evident from a visit to a number of nearby squares: Square Marie-Louise, Avenue Palmerston, Square Ambiorix and Square Marguerite. This part of Brussels was built between the end of the 19th century and the turn of the century, the glory days of Art Nouveau. The Van Eetveldehuis at number 4, Avenue Palmerston, designed by no less than Victor Horta himself, and the narrow property on Square Ambiorix (number 11) which Georges de Saint-Cyr commissioned from architect Gustave Strauven, one of Horta's pupils, are just two of the many stellar examples of Belgian Art Nouveau.
Turn-of-the-century architects were typically believers of "art in the street". This meant that even if a client did not have enough money to deck out a house with all the Art Nouveau trimmings, an attempt was made to work small Art Nouveau details into the design, such as a door handle, a boot scraper or sgraffito decoration in the relevant style. Consequently, the area around these squares, sometimes described as the Northeastern Quarter, is something of an open-air Art Nouveau museum. The same area boasts many fine examples of the eclectic building style of the period, which makes the whole area rather interesting.
Even more sights can be found on the other side of the press centre, in Leopold Park. For a while, during the 19th century, this was where Brussels had its zoo, which was subsequently transformed into a bastion of science, part of the Free University of Brussels (ULB). One of the buildings, the Solvay Library, is another glittering example of the Art Nouveau style. The building was fully restored several years ago. At the far end of the park there still stands the Royal Institute of Natural Sciences, which also has a number of splendid rooms dating from the end of the 19th century. But the Institute is known primarily for a quite different reason: this is where the 30 skeletons of iguanodons found in Bernissart, Wallonia in 1878 are stored. They are certainly impressive beasts!
Sources:
"Encyclopedie van de Art Nouveau, deel 1: Noordoostwijk Brussel" (Sint-Lukasarchief)
"Het Leopoldspark, architectuur en natuur", published as part of the series "Brussel, stad van kunst en geschiedenis" published by the Brussels-Capital Region and Solibel Edition.
An interesting website for finding your way around in the capital is http://www.brusselsinternational.be
More information about places of interest in Brussels is available from the Brussels Tourist Office, tel. 02/513.89.40, e-mail tourism@brusselsinternational.be
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