Europe - Belgium / Brussels - Brussel - Bruxelles
Originally it was part of the military exercising ground outside of the center of the city, the so-called "Linthout" plains. For the world exhibition of 1880, the plain was converted to an exhibition center. The original pavilions of the exhibition have now mainly been replaced with the Arch and the large halls on both sides of the arch, leaving only the glass constructed Bordiau halls as a memento of 1880.
The Arch was planned for the world exhibition of 1880 and was meant to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the independence of Belgium. In 1880, only the bases of the columns had been constructed and during the exhibition the rest of the arch was completed with wooden panels. During the following years, the completion of the monument was the topic of a continuous battle between King Leopold II and the Belgian government, who did not want to spend so much money on it.
The park was also the site of the Brussels International (1897), for which the building wings were extended, although with the arch still incomplete.
The original architect was the Belgian Gideon Bordiau, who spent close to 20 years on the project and died in 1904. His successor, chosen by Leopold, was the French architect Charles Girault. Girault changed the design from a single arch to a tri-parte arch, began a course of round-the-clock construction in a final push. The sculptors included:
the quadriga, entitled Brabant Raising the National Flag, by Jules Lagae and Thomas Vincotte
figures of Hainaut and Limbourg by Albert Desenfans
figures of Antwerp and Liège by Charles van der Stappen
figures of East Flanders and West Flanders by Jef Lambeaux
figures of Namur and Luxembourg by Guillaume de Groot
The monument was finally completed by way of private funding in 1905, just in time for the 75th anniversary of the Belgian independence
Europe - Belgium / Brussels - Brussel - Bruxelles
Originally it was part of the military exercising ground outside of the center of the city, the so-called "Linthout" plains. For the world exhibition of 1880, the plain was converted to an exhibition center. The original pavilions of the exhibition have now mainly been replaced with the Arch and the large halls on both sides of the arch, leaving only the glass constructed Bordiau halls as a memento of 1880.
The Arch was planned for the world exhibition of 1880 and was meant to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the independence of Belgium. In 1880, only the bases of the columns had been constructed and during the exhibition the rest of the arch was completed with wooden panels. During the following years, the completion of the monument was the topic of a continuous battle between King Leopold II and the Belgian government, who did not want to spend so much money on it.
The park was also the site of the Brussels International (1897), for which the building wings were extended, although with the arch still incomplete.
The original architect was the Belgian Gideon Bordiau, who spent close to 20 years on the project and died in 1904. His successor, chosen by Leopold, was the French architect Charles Girault. Girault changed the design from a single arch to a tri-parte arch, began a course of round-the-clock construction in a final push. The sculptors included:
the quadriga, entitled Brabant Raising the National Flag, by Jules Lagae and Thomas Vincotte
figures of Hainaut and Limbourg by Albert Desenfans
figures of Antwerp and Liège by Charles van der Stappen
figures of East Flanders and West Flanders by Jef Lambeaux
figures of Namur and Luxembourg by Guillaume de Groot
The monument was finally completed by way of private funding in 1905, just in time for the 75th anniversary of the Belgian independence