Belvédère Castle, Brussels, Belgium

Belvédère Castle is a Belgian royal castle in Laeken which currently houses Albert II of Belgium and his wife Queen Paola of Belgium. Belvédère was originally built in the 1780s, but the castle was bought by King Leopold II in 1867. The castle was meant for his sister Carlotta of Mexico, but she chose to live in Tervuren which left Belvédère empty for a while. In 1890 a fire broke out in the Royal Palace of Laeken and King Leopold and his wife Marie Henriette of Austria moved to Belvédère while repairs took place. Once the repairs were finished Leopold and Carlotta moved back to the Royal Palace, while Belvédère became the residence of their youngest daughter, Princess Clementine. She lived in Belvédère until her father died and she got married, leaving the castle for the Royal Palace. From there the castle was occupied by different members of the royal court.

In 1958 the palace was used for exhibitions during the World Expo. The following year the newlyweds Albert II and Paola moved to Belvédère, which expanded to 12 acres, having acquired parts of a local park. All three of the royal couple's children were born and raised in Belvédère. After the couple became the monarchs of Belgium, they stayed at the castle instead of moving to the Royal Palace.

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Visby Cathedral

Visby Cathedral (also known as St. Mary’s Church) is the only survived medieval church in Visby. It was originally built for German merchants and inaugurated in 1225. Around the year 1350 the church was enlarged and converted into a basilica. The two-storey magazine was also added then above the nave as a warehouse for merchants.

Following the Reformation, the church was transformed into a parish church for the town of Visby. All other churches were abandoned. Shortly after the Reformation, in 1572, Gotland was made into its own Diocese, and the church designated its cathedral.

There is not much left of the original interior. The font is made of local red marble in the 13th century. The pulpit was made in Lübeck in 1684. There are 400 graves under the church floor.

Lars R (6 years ago)
Sehr hübsch

Juan Carlos Lacruz (6 years ago)
No se puede entrar.

Laurent Leenders (7 years ago)
Domaine Royal non accessible au public

Bosco BUSSET Y Burons (7 years ago)
Lugar con encanto, muy interesante historia

Stéphane Collard (7 years ago)
J'aime bien ma nouvelle résidence.

Belvédère Castle

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