High Resolution JPEG Picture of Horseshoe-shaped arcade of the Cinquantenaire Arch, in Jubelpark/Parc du Cinquantenaire (Jubilee Park), Brussels (Commune), Brussels (Capital City & Region), Belgium. Cinquantenaire Arch commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of Belgium's independence. The King Leopold II wanted to erect this triumphal arch in time for the 1880 world exhibition, but by 1900, the Cinquantenaire Arch still wasn't finished, having been quite a bone of contention between the king and the Belgian government. It must have seemed to many Brussels citizens at the time that it would never be completed. Alas, in 1905 the monument received its final touches, and today it graces Jubelpark with undeniable grace. The Cinquantenaire Arch at Jubilee Park Brussels is the world's second tallest and widest triumphal arch. Only the Arc de Triomphe in Paris is larger in scale. Topping the impressive Cinquantenaire Arch is a bronze quadriga. The central figure in the quadriga is raising a flag of independence, marking Belgiumâs 1830 break from the Netherlands. The Large Public Park found around is located nearby the European Quarter in Brussels, Belgium. Surrounding the arch, buildings of the horse-shoe shaped complex host Museums of Art & History, themselves part of the Royal Museums of Art and History, to which also belong The Halle Gate Museum, The Japanese Tower and the Chinese Pavilion. The surrounding 30 hectare park esplanade was full of picturesque gardens, ponds and waterfalls. It housed several trade fairs, exhibitions and festivals at the beginning of the century. This settled however in 1930 when it was decided that Cinquantenaire would become a leisure park. The Royal Military Museum has been the sole tenant of the northern half of the complex since 1880. The southern half is currently occupied by the Cinquantenaire Art Museum and the Auto World Museum. [460559265] stock photo
