Brussels Park

The Royal Quarter (French: Quartier Royal or Quartier de la Cour; Dutch: Koninklijke Wijk or Koningswijk) is a quarter in the historic upper town of Brussels, Belgium.

The Vauxhall of Brussels (French: Vauxhall de Bruxelles, Dutch: Vauxhall van Brussel), otherwise known as the Waux-Hall, is a historic building in Brussels Park in Brussels, Belgium. It is named after the pleasure gardens of Vauxhall in London, which only became known to the inhabitants of Brussels in 1761, when a ballet entitled Le Phaxal was put on at the Theatre of La Monnaie. In Paris, the stage-builder Torré opened a "garden of amusements" in 1764, which the public came to call the Vaux-Hall de Torré. A Vaux-Hall d'hiver ("Winter Vauxhall") was set up in 1769 at the Foire Saint-Germin. The history of the Brussels' Vauxhall is intimately linked to that of the Royal Park Theatre. It was opened in 1781 by Alexandre Bultos and his brother Herman Bultos (co-directors of La Monnaie and of the Park Theatre). It was initially a drinking palace, concert hall and theatre. Since 1818, it has been the property of the City of Brussels. It has been used by the arts and literature club Cercle Gaulois and its predecessors, as a venue for meetings, dinners, exhibitions and concerts.

The Royal Park Theatre (French: Théâtre Royal du Parc, Dutch: Koninklijk Parktheater) is a theatre in Brussels, Belgium. It is located at 3, Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat, on the edge of Brussels Park, facing the Belgian House of Parliament (Palace of the Nation). It is served by the metro stations Parc/Park (on lines 1 and 5) and Arts-Loi/Kunst-Wet (on lines 2 and 6).

The Place des Palais (French) or Paleizenplein (Dutch), meaning "Palaces' Square", is a major square in the Royal Quarter of Brussels, Belgium. It is flanked by Brussels Park to the north, the Royal Palace of Brussels to the south and the Academy Palace to the east. This area is served by Brussels-Central railway station, as well as by the metro stations Parc/Park (on lines 1 and 5) and Trône/Troon (on lines 2 and 6).

The Federal Parliament is the bicameral parliament of Belgium. It consists of the Chamber of Representatives (Dutch: Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers , French: Chambre des Représentants, German: Abgeordnetenkammer) and the Senate (Dutch: Senaat , French: Sénat, German: Senat). It sits in the Palace of the Nation (French: Palais de la Nation, Dutch: Paleis der Natie, German: Palast der Nation). The Chamber of Representatives is the primary legislative body; the Senate functions only as a meeting place of the federal communities and regions. The Constitution does not mention the Federal Parliament as such; it stipulates that the federal legislative power is exercised by the King and the Chamber of Representatives (and exceptionally the Senate), and defines when the United Chambers convene.

The Senate (Dutch: Senaat, [səˈnaːt] (listen); French: Sénat, [seˈna]; German: Senat) is one of the two chambers of the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the House of Representatives. It is considered to be the "upper house" of the Federal Parliament. Created in 1831 as a chamber fully equal to the Chamber of Representatives, it has undergone several reforms in the past, most notably in 1993 and 2014. The 2014 elections were the first without a direct election of senators. Instead, the new Senate is composed of members of community and regional parliaments and co-opted members. It is a chamber of the communities and regions and serves as a platform for discussion and reflection about matters between these federated entities. The Senate today plays a minor role in the federal legislative process. However, the Senate, together with the Chamber, has full competence for the Constitution and legislation on the organization and functioning of the Federal State and the federated entities. Since the reform of 2014, it holds about ten plenary sessions a year.

The Chamber of Representatives (Dutch: Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers , French: Chambre des représentants, German: Abgeordnetenkammer) is one of the two chambers in the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Senate. It is considered to be the "lower house" of the Federal Parliament.

Parc (French) or Park (Dutch) is a Brussels metro station located beneath Brussels' Park in central Brussels (Belgium). It has one entrance, at the intersection of Rue Royale/Koningsstraat and Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat, two of the main roads of the City of Brussels. The station opened on 17 December 1969, as a premetro (underground tram) station on the tram line between De Brouckère and Schuman, and became a heavy metro station on 20 September 1976, serving former lines 1A and 1B. Following the reorganisation of the Brussels metro on 4 April 2009, it is served by lines 1 and 5, which cross Brussels from east to west. Several places of interest other than the park itself lie near this station: the Royal Palace, the Belgian House of Parliament (Palace of the Nation), the office of the Prime Minister of Belgium, the Royal Park Theatre, and the United States' embassy.

The Parliament of the French Community (French: Parlement de la Communauté française or PCF) is the legislative assembly of the French Community of Belgium based in the Quartier Royal. It consists of all 75 members of the Walloon Parliament except German-speaking members (currently two) who are substituted by French-speaking members from the same party, and 19 members elected by the French linguistic group of the Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region within the former body. These members are elected for a term of five years. The current President of the Parliament of the French Community is Rudy Demotte (PS).

The Palace of the Nation (French: Palais de la Nation, Dutch: Paleis der Natie, German: Palast der Nation) is a neoclassical palace in Brussels, Belgium, housing the Belgian Federal Parliament. The palace was built from 1778 to 1783 to a neoclassical design by the French architect Gilles-Barnabé Guimard and includes sculptures by Gilles-Lambert Godecharle. Under Austrian rule, it housed the Sovereign Council of Brabant before being used as a courthouse during the French period. During the Dutch period, it was one of two homes of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, the other being in The Hague. Following Belgian independence in 1830, the Provisional Government of Belgium and Belgian National Congress moved into the building and the first session of the Chamber of Representatives and Senate was held there a year later.The building stands across the street from Brussels Park's northern entrance, near the site of the former palace of the Dukes of Brabant, which was destroyed by fire in 1731, and has itself been badly damaged by fire, in 1820 and 1883. In the 1930s, a bunker was built underneath the park, connected by tunnels to the House of Parliament. This area is served by Brussels Central Station, as well as by the metro stations Parc/Park (on lines 1 and 5) and Arts-Loi/Kunst-Wet (on lines 1, 2, 5 and 6).

The Academy Palace or Palace of the Academies (French: Palais des Académies, Dutch: Paleis der Academiën) is a neoclassical palace in Brussels, Belgium. It was originally built between 1823 and 1828 for Prince William II of Orange. Today, it houses five Belgian academies including the Royal Academies for Science and the Arts of Belgium (RASAB). In English, it is also often called the Academy House.The palace is situated on the Rue Ducale/Hertogstraat in the Royal Quarter (eastern part of Brussels' city centre), next to the Place des Palais/Paleizenplein, the Royal Palace of Brussels and Brussels Park. This area is served by Brussels Central Station, as well as by the metro stations Parc/Park (on lines 1 and 5) and Trône/Troon (on lines 2 and 6).

The Royal Palace of Brussels (French: Palais Royal de Bruxelles, Dutch: Koninklijk Paleis van Brussel [ˈkoːnɪŋklək paːˈlɛis fɑm ˈbrʏsəl]) is the official palace of the King and Queen of the Belgians in the centre of the nation's capital, Brussels. However, it is not used as a royal residence, as the king and his family live in the Royal Palace of Laeken in northern Brussels. The website of the Belgian Monarchy describes the function of the palace as follows: The Palace is where His Majesty the King exercises his prerogatives as Head of State, grants audiences and deals with affairs of state. Apart from the offices of the King and the Queen, the Royal Palace houses the services of the Grand Marshal of the Court, the King's Head of Cabinet, the Head of the King's Military Household and the Intendant of the King's Civil List. The Palace also includes the State Rooms where large receptions are held, as well as the apartments provided for foreign Heads of State during official visits. The first nucleus of the present-day building dates from the end of the 18th century. However, the grounds on which the palace stands were once part of the Coudenberg Palace, a very old palatial complex that dated back to the Middle Ages. The facade existing today was only built after 1900 on the initiative of King Leopold II. The Royal Palace is situated in front of Brussels Park, from which it is separated by a long square called the Place des Palais/Paleizenplein. The middle axis of the park marks both the middle peristyle of the Royal Palace and of the Belgian Federal Parliament building (Palace of the Nation) on the other side of the park. The two facing buildings are said to symbolise Belgium's system of government: a constitutional monarchy. This area is served by Brussels Central Station, as well as by the metro stations Parc/Park (on lines 1 and 5) and Trône/Troon (on lines 2 and 6).