Bois de la Cambre

About

The Bois de la Cambre () is an urban public park in Brussels, Belgium. It lies in the south of the Brussels-Capital Region, in the City of Brussels, and covers an area of 1.23 km2 (0.47 sq mi), forming a natural offshoot of the Sonian Forest, which penetrates deep into the city in the south-east of Brussels. It is linked to the rest of the municipality by the Avenue Louise/Louizalaan, which was built in 1861, at the same time the park was laid out. The park consists of two large, slightly oval parts. The northern part is the most wooded and is home to some 19th-century buildings. The southern part compres a 6-hectare-large (15-acre) artificial lake with an island in its centre, called Robinson Island, home to the Chalet Robinson.

Early history: As an offshoot of the Sonian Forest during the Ancien Régime, the wooded area where the Bois de la Cambre is located today included to La Cambre Abbey, located just north of it, and was called the Heeghde or Heegde, an Old Dutch term possibly meansing "seigneurial wood." In 1840, it was given its current name after the abbey...