The rather austere neoclassical palace and its stables were built between 1823 and 1828 for Prince William II of Orange in recognition of his brilliant action on the battlefield at Waterloo, from funds granted by the nation.

[7] The princely family of William of Orange and his princess, Anna Pavlovna, sister of tsars Alexander I and Nicholas I, occupied the palace a scant two years before the Belgian Revolution of September 1830 forced them to flee to the Netherlands.

[1] The Academy Palace is surrounded by a garden adorned with quite a few sculptures, including a statue of the astronomer Adolphe Quételet by Charles-Auguste Fraikin (1880), busts of the chemist Jean Servais Stas by Thomas Vinçotte on a pedestal designed by Victor Horta (1897), and the lawyer and politician Jules Destrée by Armand Bonnetain [fr] (1937), as well as The Surprise, a work with a dog and a turtle by Jean-Baptiste Van Heffen (1869).

Around the pond, on the side of the Rue de la Régence/Regentschapsstraat, there are three statues on high pedestals: a replica of The Discobolus by Mathieu Kessels (1867), The Victor by Jean Geefs [nl], and Cain Cursed by Louis Jehotte (1850).

A young Auguste Rodin also contributed to the execution of the sculptural group on a pedestal, symbolising Science, Trade and Agriculture, by Antoine van Rasbourg [nl] (1874).