Top 20 Natural Monuments in Brussels

A place to slow down, recharge your batteries and discover beautiful plants.

Here we see a watercourse, which is enough for a beaver. If the beaver builds a dam here, it can become a pond or a lake in two or three years. The animal can change an entire ecosystem, simply because its dam retains water and rain. These natural beaver dams are very efficient in combating floods and droughts, because they regulate the flow of small watercourses. Locally, they can shape the forest through flooding by flooding parts of the forest, causing the tree vegetation to die. When the beavers leave their dam and their beaver pond, a succession from pioneer forest to climax forest can start again after the reservoir has drained.

Beech forests are the end point of spontaneous forest evolution, they form the climax vegetation in places that are not too dry, too warm or too wet. If nature were to take its course, the beech would cover most of our continent. Old, almost untouched beech forests are extremely rare in Europe today and are mainly found in places that are difficult to exploit or develop. Compared to the rest of the world, beech forests are among the seriously endangered habitats in Europe, even though the beech as a species is not endangered. For this reason, the few remaining old and untouched European beech forests that have not or hardly been changed by humans have been included on the UNESCO World Heritage List. This cross-border heritage includes 94 sub-areas in 18 countries. Since the end of the last ice age, the European beech has spread from a few isolated refuges in the Alps, Carpathians, Dinarides, the Mediterranean and the Pyrenees over a large part of the continent in a relatively short time, a few thousand years. The success of the beech throughout Europe is due to its adaptability and tolerance to different climatic, geographical and physical conditions. These forests contain an invaluable population of old trees and a genetic reservoir of beech and many other species that depend on these old forest areas. Throughout the year and during their life cycle, beech forests undergo different stages and processes. From the germination of young trees that grow close together in their first years, to decades of competition for space, water and light, the growth into impressive trees, and finally the decay and breakdown. Without human intervention, these natural processes unfold in an undisturbed way. Together, over tens and even hundreds of years, these typical wilderness phenomena shape the forest. Please note: this information is a general description of the UNESCO World Heritage site, which is located elsewhere in the Sonian Forest. In 2017, five parts (located in Ticton, Joseph Zwaenepoel and Grippensdelle) of the Sonian Forest were recognised as UNESCO World Heritage as part of the ‘Ancient and pristine beech forests of the Carpathians and other regions of Europe’. It is the only UNESCO natural world heritage site in Belgium.

Here we see a stream. For a beaver, that's enough. If the beaver builds a dam here, in two or three years it might be a pond or a lake. The animal can change an entire ecosystem simply because its dam holds back water and rain. These natural beaver dams are very effective in controlling floods and droughts because they regulate the flow of small streams. Locally, they can shape the forest by flooding parts of the forest, which causes the vegetation to die. When the beavers leave their dam and pond, a succession from pioneer forest to climax forest can resume after this reservoir dries up.

Beech forests are the end point of the spontaneous evolution of forests, forming climax vegetation in places that are neither too dry, nor too hot, nor too humid. If nature had its way, beech trees would cover most of our continent. Nearly natural old beech forests are now extremely rare in Europe and are usually found on sites that are difficult to cultivate or develop. In international comparison, the beech forest belongs to the European habitats that are significantly endangered, even though the beech as a species is not at all endangered. This is why the few primary and ancient European beech forests that have not been or have been little modified by man have been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. This transboundary heritage comprises 94 elements spread across 18 countries. Since the end of the last ice age, the European beech has spread from a few isolated refuge areas in the Alps, the Carpathians, the Dinarides, the Mediterranean and the Pyrenees, over a short period of a few thousand years, in a process that continues to this day. The successful expansion across an entire continent is linked to the tree's adaptability and tolerance to different climatic, geographical and physical conditions. These forests contain an invaluable population of old trees and a genetic reservoir of beeches and many other species, which are associated with and dependent on these ancient forest habitats. Throughout the year and their life cycle, beech forests go through highly differentiated stages and processes: from germination to the growth of densely packed young trees in their first years, through decades of competition for space, water and light, to ageing into a large tree, followed by death and decay. Please note that this information is a general description of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, which is located elsewhere in the Sonian Forest. In 2017, five parts (located in Ticton, Joseph Zwaenepoel and Grippensdelle) of the Sonian Forest were recognized as the UNESCO World Heritage Site of "Primeval and Ancient Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe". This is the only natural UNESCO World Heritage site in Belgium.

Here we see a course of water. For a beaver this is enough. If the beaver builds a dam here, in two or three years from now this could be a pond or a lake. The animal can change an entire ecosystem just because its dam would hold water and rain. These natural beaver dams are very efficient to combat floods and droughts, as they regulate the flow of small watercourses. Locally, they can shape the forest by flooding parts of the forest causing the tree vegetation to die. When the beavers leave their dam and pond, a succession from pioneer forest to climax forest can start growing again after this reservoir has been drained.

Beech forests are the end point of spontaneous forest evolution, forming climax vegetation in places that are not too dry, too hot or too wet. If it was left to nature, the beech would cover most of our continent. Ancient near-natural beech forests are now extremely rare in Europe and are generally found at sites that are difficult to farm or develop. By international comparison, the beech forest belongs to Europe’s critically endangered habitats, even though the beech as a species is not endangered at all. This is why the few remaining primeval beech forests and centuries-old European beech forest areas unaltered, or little altered, by humans are inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. This transnational property includes 94 component parts in 18 countries. Since the end of the last Ice Age, European Beech spread from a few isolated refuge areas in the Alps, Carpathians, Dinarides, Mediterranean and Pyrenees over a short period of a few thousand years in a process that is still ongoing. The successful expansion of beech forests across a whole continent is related to the tree’s adaptability and tolerance of different climatic, geographical and physical conditions. These forests contain an invaluable population of old trees and a genetic reservoir of beech and many other species, which are associated with and dependent on these old-growth forest habitats. Over the course of the year, and throughout their life cycle, beech forests undergo highly differentiated stages and processes. Germination, the densely packed juvenile trees during their early years, the decades of competition for space, water and light, maturation into an imposing tree, followed by death and decay. Without human interference, a largely undisturbed flow of natural processes unfolds. Together, and over decades and centuries, these typical wilderness phenomena shape the forest. Please note: this information is a general description of UNESCO’s World Heritage, which is located elsewhere in the Sonian Forest. In 2017, five parts of the Sonian Forest (located in Ticton, Joseph Zwaenepoel and Grippensdelle) received recognition as a UNESCO Word Heritage Site of “Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe”. It is the only UNESCO Natural World Heritage site in Belgium.

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the independence of Belgium and at the same time as the World Exhibition, King Leopold II had the Jubilee Park (Parc du Cinquantenaire) built in 1880. The architect Gédéon Bordiau drew up the plans. The intention was to create a green area with pavilions for various exhibitions. The triumphal arch (arcade) connects two wings covering a total area of 30 hectares. Note the beautiful symmetry of the French and English-inspired gardens, the lawns and the wide avenues.