Royal Palace

The Palace of the Academies in Brussels is a neoclassical building in the Royal Quarter of the Belgian capital. Built between 1823 and 1828, it originally served as the residence of Prince William II of Orange, awarded in recognition of his military service at the Battle of Waterloo. After the Belgian Revolution of 1830 forced the family to flee to the Netherlands, the estate passed to the newly founded Belgian state. Following a period of public use, during which it also housed a cavalry regiment, the palace was remodeled in the 1860s to make room for a museum of modern art. Since a royal decree of 1876, however, the building has mainly housed scientific and cultural institutions. Today it is the seat of five Belgian academies, including the Royal Academies for Science, Literature, and Fine Arts as well as the medical academies of the French- and Dutch-speaking communities.

You can admire the historic building in the heart of the city, right next to the Royal Palace and Brussels Park. The surrounding garden is especially charming, enclosed by a balustrade and guarded at its entrance gates by two monumental lion statues. The park is rich in sculptures honoring prominent figures from science and politics. Highlights include a statue of the astronomer Adolphe Quételet, busts of the chemist Jean Servais Stas and the politician Jules Destrée, and various allegorical figures. Along the pond, more monuments stand on tall pedestals, including a replica of the Discobolus and the work "Cain Cursed." The palace itself has been listed as a protected monument of the Brussels-Capital Region since 2001 and bears witness to the city's long cultural and political history.