Parc du Cinquantenaire (French) Jubelpark (Dutch)
Type	Pedestrian square and museum
Location	Brussels, Belgium
Coordinates	50°50′26″N 4°23′34″E / 50.84056, 4.39278
Opened	1880

Parc du Cinquantenaire (French), Jubelpark (Dutch) or Jubilee Park (English) is an urban public park with a complex of buildings in the eastern part of the European District of Brussels, Belgium. Brussels (Bruxelles pronounced; Brussel pronounced) officially the Brussels Capital-Region, is The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those A geographic coordinate system enables every location on the Earth to be specified in three coordinates using mainly a spherical coordinate system. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people Dutch ( is a West Germanic language spoken by around 24 million people 22 million of which are from the Netherlands, Belgium and Suriname English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Brussels ( Belgium) is considered to be the de facto Capital of the European Union, having a long history of hosting the Institutions Brussels (Bruxelles pronounced; Brussel pronounced) officially the Brussels Capital-Region, is The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those

The park is dominated by the 1880 triumphal arch in the middle, and the horse-shoe shaped buildings surrounding the park esplanade. A triumphal arch is a structure in the shape of a monumental Archway, in theory built to celebrate a victory in war actually used to celebrate a ruler

The N3 main road and line 1 of the Brussels Metro pass underneath and partly underneath an open- section in the middle of the park. Brussels Metro (Métro de Bruxelles Brusselse metro is a Metro system serving a large part of the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium. The nearest metro stations are Schuman, to the west of the park, and Merode, immediately to the east. Schuman station is a Railway and metro station in the City of Brussels. Under a new plan for refurbishing the complex however, the motorway will be closed, and a new car park will be built under the park, and a new metro station called Cinquantenaire will be built close by. ^[1]

Residents and usages

A maquette of the western part of the complex

Today the various buildings of the Cinquantenaire host the Royal Museums for Art and History, the Royal Army and Military History Museum and the Autoworld automobile museum. This article is about the architectural or sculptural model For the Italian animator please see Bruno Bozzetto. The Royal Museums of Art and History ( Dutch: Koninklijke Musea voor Kunst en Geschiedenis, French: Musées royaux d'Art et d'Histoire) is a group AutoWorld is a Vintage car Museum in the center of Brussels Belgium, located in the southern hall of the Parc du Cinquantenaire. In the summer, the esplande park is used for diverse purposes, such as military parades and drive-in movies. It is also the starting point of the annual 20 km of Brussels, a run with 25,000 participants, is started in the park. The 20 km of Brussels (20 km de Bruxelles 20 km door Brussel is a 20

History

The Cinquantenaire Arch		Park complex in front of the Arch. In the plans mentioned below, the underpass motorway would be closed.

Originally it was part of the military exercising ground outside of the center of the city, the so-called "Linthout" plains. For the world exhibition of 1880, the plain was converted to an exhibition center. The original pavillons of the exhibition have now mainly been replaced with the Arch and the large halls on both sides of the arch, leaving only the glass constructed Bordiau halls as a memento of 1880.

The Arch was planned for the world exhibition of 1880 and was meant to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the independence of Belgium. In 1880, only the bases of the columns had been constructed and during the exhibition the rest of the arch was completed with wooden panels. Year 1880 ( MDCCCLXXX) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year During the following years, the completion of the monument was the topic of a continuous battle between king Leopold II and the Belgian government, who did not want to spend so much money on it. Leopold II (Léopold Louis Philippe Marie Victor Leopold Lodewijk Filips Maria Victor (9 April 1835 – 17 December 1909 was King of the Belgians. The monument was finally completed by way of private funding in 1905, just in time for the 75th anniversary of the Belgian independence. Year 1905 ( MCMV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting It is the widest and second highest (after Paris) triumphal arch in the world. The Arc de Triomphe is a monument in Paris, France that stands in the centre of the Place Charles de Gaulle also known as the Place de l'Étoile.

Future

Further information: Brussels and the European Union#Future

Cinquantenaire is envisioned to possibly host the European Council, and the North Hall (pictured) would be a place for major congresses. Brussels ( Belgium) is considered to be the de facto Capital of the European Union, having a long history of hosting the Institutions The European Council (referred to as a European Summit) is the highest political body of the European Union.

In September 2007, the European Commissioner for Administrative Affairs Siim Kallas, together with Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region Charles Picqué, unveiled plans for rebuilding the European district. The Commissioner for Administrative Affairs Audit & Anti-Fraud is the member of the European Commission. Siim Kallas (born 2 October 1948 in Tallinn) is an Estonian politician currently serving as European Commissioner for Administrative Charles Picqué (b November 1, 1948, Etterbeek) is a Belgian, French-speaking politician ^[2] They included 'Europeanising' part of the Cinquantenaire complex, and installing a major "socio-cultural facility" in the North Hall, enabled to hold "major congresses and, perhaps, European Summits, events, exhibitions" in the North Hall of the Cinquantenaire, after moving the Aerospace Museum out to Tour et Taxis in the north of the city. The Cinquantenaire would under the plans make become one of three European pedestrian squares, being the one for events and festivities. ^[3]

Wider development surrounding the complex involves a new metro station called Cinquantenaire, an underground car park and the Europeanisation of part of the Cinquantenaire complex with a "socio-cultural facility". Brussels Metro (Métro de Bruxelles Brusselse metro is a Metro system serving a large part of the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium. Parking lot (called a car park in Australia and the UK) is a cleared area that is more or less level and is intended for Parking vehicles It is possible that the European Council may have to move to this area from Résidence Palace for security reasons. The European Council (referred to as a European Summit) is the highest political body of the European Union. Résidence Palace is a building in the European Quarter of Brussels. ^[1]

See also

• Brussels and the European Union
• AutoWorld
• Cinquantenaire Museum
• Royal Museums of Art and History

References

External links

• Royal Army and Military History Museum
• Autoworld
• Royal Museum of Art and History
• 3D panoramic view of the Arch