AT A GLANCE
Why go?
Rising 45 metres above the heart of Brussels' Cinquantenaire Park, the Triumphal Arch (or Arc du Cinquantenaire) is a grand neoclassical triple arch crowned by a bronze chariot group. Built in 1905 to celebrate 75 years of Belgian independence, it is one of the most theatrical monuments in a city shaped by the building obsession of King Leopold II—and the one spot in the park from which you can see almost the entire capital at once.↗↗↗
The arch's real draw is the climb: an elevator takes you inside the masonry and a short flight of stairs to a terrace beside the quadriga, where a 360-degree panorama sweeps over the park, the European quarter, and far-off landmarks such as the Atomium and Koekelberg Basilica. Add in the surrounding green space, three major museums and a calendar of events, and the arch becomes the natural centrepiece of a half-day in eastern Brussels.↗↗
An arch built to glorify a young nation
The Cinquantenaire Arch is the monumental keystone of a much larger project. The park and its exhibition palaces began in 1880, when Belgian architect Gédéon Bordiau laid out green lawns and halls to mark the 50th anniversary of Belgian independence. Only the bases of the arch were finished for that first exhibition; the rest was a temporary illusion of wood and plaster. It took a quarter of a century more—and a royal battle with a reluctant government—before the monument was completed at all.
