Tervuren Castle

The park later contained the Pavilion of Tervuren, a summer palace for the prince of Orange, the future King William II of the Netherlands, which burned down in 1879.

[2] With the arrival of the archdukes Albert of Austria and Isabella Clara Eugenia in the period 1599–1633, the dilapidated castle site experienced a new impetus.

[1][2][3] From 1610, the feudal castle was transformed by the court architect Wenceslas Cobergher into a country residence as known from the many prints, drawings and paintings by Peter Paul Rubens, Jan Brueghel the Elder and Denis van Alsloot, among others.

[1][2] The castle's immediate surroundings were embellished with a "motte" in the Borg pond—a square parterre structure with corner arbors connected to the solid ground by bridges—and with geometrically laid out ornamental gardens.

[1][2] In the same period, the area was significantly expanded, including part of the hamlet of Goordal and the old banmolen of the dukes of Brabant, also known as the "Spanish house".

[2] A painting by Jan van der Heyden dating from around 1700, with a view of the castle from the south, shows the wall on the west side of the Warande with the Leuvensepoort on the right.

[1][2] This came to an end with the new governor of the Netherlands, Archduchess Maria Elisabeth, who, after her visit to Tervuren in 1725, ordered the court architect Jean-André Anneessens to completely restore the castle, an assignment that he retained under her successor Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine.

[1][2] After his death in 1754, the works were continued by the Bruges architect Jean Faulte, mentioned in 1757 as "Directeur des ouvrages de Tervueren".

[1][2] In line with the spirit of the times, the castle was opened up into an airy 18th-century summer residence and extended on the east side with a new wing, as can be seen on a map (1773) by Laurent-Benoît Dewez.

[1][2] A monumental entrance was created on the west side of the Warande in the form of a spacious, horseshoe-shaped stables and maid complex, followed by a new lane (currently the 'Kasteelstraat') as a direct connection between the castle and the village centre.

[1][2] To the south of the castle, a terraced pleasure garden was created, embellished with fountains, vases, statues, a labyrinth, toys, a bathing pond with artfully painted Chinese pavilions, a cascade, an aviary for exotic birds, all connected by steps and leafy tree galleries.

[1][2] Between 1755 and 1760, an 80-metre-wide, arc-shaped industrial complex arose on the dam of the Goordalvijver, which, as a counterpart to the Hoefijzer, formed the eastern terminus of an elongated visual axis.

[1][2] All this splendour has been extensively documented, including an anonymous plan from 1760–1770, the Ferraris map (1770-1778), the pen drawings N. De Sparr (1753) and the descriptions in the "Guide Fidèle" (1761).

[1][2] To make the colonial exhibition attractive and accessible, Tervuren was connected to the capital with a wide, 11 km (6.8 mi) tree-lined avenue, flanked by a tram line, which was constructed for the occasion.

[1][2] The French architect Charles Girault, whose Petit Palais was liked by Leopold II at the Paris Exposition of 1900, was commissioned to develop a concept that encompassed the entire Lokkaartsveld along the Leuvensesteenweg, including of the Palace of Colonies site.