[1] The hilly English-style park was designed between 1901 and 1904 by the landscape architect Edmond Galoppin, as part of an urban project including the Teniers-Josaphat district.

[6][7][2][a] On a hill near the valley, nicknamed Heyligenbergh, he had a votive column erected as a memento of his journey and his discovery,[7][2] with a Latin inscription inviting passers-by to meditate on this similarity.

[8] By the 19th century, the Josaphat Valley had become a popular recreational area for Brussels' inhabitants, a remnant of the old Linthout forest that ran along the Chaussée de Louvain/Leuvensesteenweg and extended to the borders of the current municipality of Auderghem.

[10] From 1898, the municipality of Schaerbeek expressed its intention to create a park there and set about buying back the plots from 197 owners by mutual agreement.

[11][12] At that time, the valley consisted of private properties and estates, the largest of which belonged to the widow Martha, who owned land, fields and a mansion there.

King Leopold II, however, sensitive to the valley's aesthetic appeal, purchased the trees without cutting them down and donated them to Schaerbeek's municipal authorities.

[5] Its development was entrusted to the landscape architect Edmond Galoppin [fr] of Melsbroek and the municipal engineer Gaston Bertrand.

[15][16] Galoppin strove to give the park a picturesque appearance by creating a rockery in its lower part and irregular paths winding around a string of ponds.

[5][25] Josaphat Park is located at the centre of Schaerbeek, between the Chaussée de Haecht/Haachtsesteenweg to the north and the Avenue Chazal/Chazallaan to the south.

and partially to the presence of rarer specimens such as bald cypresses, tulip trees, Caucasian wingnuts and Ginkgo bilobas.

[4][20][25] All that remains of the zoological garden is a small petting zoo, which includes a poultry yard (with ducks, peacocks, geese, waterhens, guinea fowl, etc.

[28] On the western side of Josaphat Park, between the railway line and the Avenue Ambassadeur Van Vollenhoven, lies Schaerbeek's miniature golf course.

In 1952, the footballer Robert Gérard proposed to build a minigolf course on the piece of land along the railway line, where there were several vegetable gardens.

The venue, with its large stand recognised as a listed monument, fell into disrepair and became a blight on the surrounding area.

[1][34] A large sandpit and a circular shelter welcome children and are a reminder that the Schaerbeek "beach" used to be there—a body of water surrounded by sandy banks.

[1] La Laiterie, a guinguette (i.e. small tavern) in the heart of the park, offers live jazz concerts every Friday evening and jam sessions every Wednesday from 6 p.m.[35][36] The Buvette Sint-Sebastiaan and La Guinguette Populeir offer a culinary break for visitors during their walks.

[37][36] In addition, the food kiosk Josaphine's provides a selection of savoury snacks, drinks and sweet treats, as well as picnic baskets.

Among the twenty or so sculptures that line its winding paths, there are effigies and busts of the poets Émile Verhaeren and Albert Giraud, the writers Hubert Krains and Georges Eekhoud, the composer Henri Wetz, the playwright Nestor Detière [fr], and the painters Léon Frédéric and Oswald Poreau [fr].

The sculptural collection also includes several bronzes such as The Pruner (1895) and Eve and the Serpent (1890) by Desenfans, Cinderella by Lefever (1881), Boreas by Van Hamme (1904), Tijl Uylenspiegel and Cariatide by Canneel, Maternity by De Korte (1949), the Monument to Philippe Baucq by Nisot (1974), as well as the Monument to Edmond Galoppin by Lecroart (1921), erected in memory of the park's creator.

The most famous tells of a young peasant who, spurned by his fiancée, cried for days on end and ultimately went blind.

[44][25][45] In a gesture of compassion, neighbours installed a reservoir-shaped memorial with an inscription that served as a poignant reminder of the event.