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The 1886 grotto/cascade on Square Marie-Louise is in a shocking state these days. Made of reinforced concrete and bits of stone, these were briefly trendy all over Europe & seemed to evoke aristocratic follies rather than Lourdes (although a lot of them do that too). I'm a fan.
The grotto used to be open to the public. The pond at Marie-Louise was for centuries a country-walk destination for Brusseleirs and a promenade through the shrubs recalled that. It is still there but locked. Because it's dangerous and to discourage the Cara Pils lads. And €€€
There was originally meant to be an island in the pond, reached by a bridge, like at Buttes Chaumont in Paris but we're not made of money FFS.
The Marie-Louise grotto was keeping up with the Joneses in Ixelles, where the (recently-restored) one by the ponds was built 10 years earlier (also by concrete specialists Blaton, who brought us the much-loved Tour Blaton to replace the Maison du Peuple). Not sure about the pink.
As at Buttes-Chaumont, the Ixelles grotto was built with a classical (alright, pagan) temple feature to deter pilgrims. Stroll, admire but stay off the knees.
So, please restore our grotto @VilleBruxelles. Ixelles is laughing at us AGAIN. And reopen the heritage promenade. We all need a little sylvan escape these days.
For reference, here's a proper religious grotto in the cemetery of the wonderful Abdij van Park at Leuven. Very strong 'faces in things' energy.
Bonus ball 4 locals. In the 1870s plan for the area, the top of the hill was meant to be crowned with a honking great church on Square Marguerite. Godless Brussels City blocked this and we got a load of pubs instead. Sadly all gone, but remembered here https://twitter.com/goodclimate/status/1313245063590354948?s=19
