Cinquantenaire

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Cinquantenaire Park, also known as Jubelpark, is a large public park in Brussels’ European Quarter. It covers about 30 hectares (74 acres) and was created for the 1880 National Exhibition to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Belgian independence.

The centerpiece is the Cinquantenaire Arch, part of a U-shaped complex with big halls on both sides. The arch was completed in 1905 after a long design and funding struggle. It’s crowned by a bronze quadriga sculpture and features statues representing Belgian provinces.

Today, three museums fill the complex:
- Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History (northern half, since 1880)
- Art & History Museum (southern half, since 1889)
- Autoworld automobile museum (since 1986)

In the park’s north-west corner stand the Great Mosque of Brussels (opened in 1978) along with two monuments: the Temple of Human Passions (1896) and the Monument to the Belgian Pioneers in Congo (1921).

The park is famous for its esplanades, gardens, ponds and fountains. It hosts parades, exhibitions, festivals, drive-in movies and film shoots, and it’s the starting point for the annual 20 km of Brussels race.

Access is via the Brussels Metro at Schuman (west) and Merode (east); the Belliard Tunnel runs under the park. The area began as a military exercise ground and was turned into an exhibition park in 1880.

Notes on the Temple of Human Passions: designed by Victor Horta in 1896, it marks early Art Nouveau. It has been mostly closed, but opens in summer since 2014.

Future plans include efforts from 2007 to “Europeanise” parts of Cinquantenaire as Brussels’ European district, and renovations announced in 2022 for the Cinquantenaire Bicentenaire to celebrate Belgium’s 200th independence anniversary.