The Royal Park

The Royal Park, of 40 hectares, the northern part of which was built around the royal palace and the pavilions of the Minister of War and the generals; the southern part, or false park, was intended for the non-commissioned officers. The park contains 12,000 trees, many of them exotic.

In 1837, the first part of the Royal Park was created: 7 ha around the Royal Palace. In the same year, massive plantings were started to the east of the camp. This was intended to break the winds coming from the plain, in order to protect the infantry camp from the drifting sand. In 1846, Minister Chazal sent a disciplinary company (compagnie sans floche) to the Beverlo Camp. This provided the camp with a large number of cheap workers. Under the supervision of the horticultural school from Gembloux and engineers, a beautiful 40 ha park was created. The park is divided into two equal parts by the Leopold II Avenue. The northern part, which was initially only accessible to officers and their families, was called the Royal Park. Everyone was allowed to walk through the southern part. Nowadays, a large part of the park is open to the public. More than 12,000 trees were planted in the park, of which 6,200 have surviving leaves. Source: 3970leopoldsburg.be/koninklijk-park