Arcade du Cinquantenaire

The Cinquantenaire Arcade (French: Arcade(s) du Cinquantenaire, Dutch: Triomfboog van het Jubelpark) is a monumental triple triumphal arch in the centre of the Parc du Cinquantenaire/Jubelpark in Brussels, Belgium. It is topped by a bronze quadriga sculptural group with a woman charioteer, representing the Province of Brabant personified raising the national flag.[1]

Cinquantenaire Arcade
Arcade(s) du Cinquantenaire  (French)
Triomfboog van het Jubelpark  (Dutch)
The Cinquantenaire/Jubelpark triumphal arch
General information
TypeTriumphal arch
Architectural styleNeoclassicism
LocationCinquantenaire, Brussels, Belgium
Coordinates50°50′25″N 4°23′34″E
Construction started4 January 1905
Completed27 September 1905
Design and construction
ArchitectGédéon Bordiau, Charles Girault

The monument is oriented facing Brussels' city centre, on one side in the axis of Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat which, crossing the Leopold Quarter, ends in the Royal District, seat of the Belgian Parliament, the Belgian Government and the Royal Palace; and on the other side, in the axis of Avenue de Tervueren/Tervurenlaan, leads to the Palais des Colonies, now the Royal Museum for Central Africa.

History

The Cinquantenaire Arcade was part of a project commissioned by the Belgian government under the patronage of King Leopold II for the 1880 National Exhibition, commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the Belgian Revolution.[2] In 1880, only the bases of the columns were completed, and during the exhibition, the rest of the arch was constructed from wooden panels. In the following years, the completion of the monument was the topic of a continuous battle between Leopold II and the Belgian government, which did not want to spend the money required to complete it.

The original single arch of the 1880 exhibition was conceived by the Belgian architect Gédéon Bordiau, but upon his death in 1904, the arch's design was revised by the French architect Charles Girault, chosen by Leopold II.[2] Girault designed a triple arcade, but preserved Bordiau's idea of the quadriga.[2] The foundation of the new arch was laid down on 4 January 1905, replacing Bordiau's temporary arch. The basic construction was completed with private funding in May of the same year and the arcade was inaugurated by Leopold II on 27 September 1905, just in time for the 75th anniversary of Belgian independence.[2]

Panoramic view of the Cinquantenaire Arcade

Description

The Cinquantenaire's triple arcade, 30-metre-wide (98 ft) and 45-metre-high (148 ft), has three bays of equal dimensions. The ceiling of the arcade, whose arches are semi-circular, is made up of stone caissons decorated, for half of them with a laurel wreath, and for the rest with the acronym meaning "The King, and Law, and Liberty!", one of Belgium's official pledges. The monument's decoration and the sculptures which adorn it were entrusted to the most prominent artists of the time in a spirit of national exaltation.

Quadriga
The quadriga (or Brabant Raising the National Flag) by Thomas Vinçotte and Jules Lagae

The arch's bronze quadriga, entitled Brabant Raising the National Flag, was made by Thomas Vinçotte and the horses by Jules Lagae.[2] The pedestal, facing Avenue de Tervueren, bears the inscription: "This monument was erected in 1905 for the glorification of the independence of Belgium", with the year shown in Roman numerals. A spiral staircase, now flanked by an elevator, provides access to the exhibition room located under the quadriga and to the two terraces located on either side of it.

Columns and sculptures

The columns echo the original layout of Avenue de Tervueren, which was once divided into three roadways lined with a double row of trees.[2] The sidewalls feature personifications of Belgian provinces: Brabant being represented by the quadriga, West Flanders, East Flanders, Antwerp, Limburg, Hainaut, Namur, Liège, and Luxembourg. Twelve spandrels are decorated with allegories of Arts and Industry.[2]

Colonnade and frieze

The originally open colonnade was closed at the rear by a wall in 1905, which starting in 1912, was decorated with a 360 m2 (3,900 sq ft) mosaic frieze with the theme "the glorification of peaceful and heroic Belgium", by Jean Delville. He was then joined by several other artists.[2] The mosaic decoration was completed in 1932.

  • The Knight-King, Albert I, mosaic by Jean Delville, 1920
  • The Victory of the Fallen, Delville, 1920
  • The Trumpets of Victory, Delville, 1920
  • The Victory of Law and Justice, Delville, 1920

Location and accessibility

The various buildings of the Cinquantenaire, of which the arcade forms the centrepiece, host three museums; the Royal Military Museum, the Art & History Museum and Autoworld vintage car museum. In front of the arch lies a large esplanade cutting through the Cinquantenaire Park. The Temple of Human Passions by Victor Horta, a remainder from 1886, and the Great Mosque of Brussels from 1978, are located in the north-western corner of the park. The surrounding park esplanade is used for several purposes in the summer, such as military parades and drive-in movies. It is also the starting point for the 20 km of Brussels, an annual run with 30,000 participants.

Line 1 of the Brussels Metro and the Belliard Tunnel from Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat pass underneath the park, the latter partly in an open section in front of the arch. The nearest metro stations are Schuman to the west of the park, and Merode immediately to the east.

See also

References
  1. McDonald, George (2011). Frommer's Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg. John Wiley & Sons. p. 113. ISBN 1118061519.
  2. "Arcade et hémicycle Parc du Cinquantenaire" (in French). L'inventaire du patrimoine architectural de la Région de Bruxelles-Capitale. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
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