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Autumn walks are one of my favourite physical activities, so far I have always been lucky to live close to forests, where I could go or run to enjoy the beauty of nature and autumnal colors at any time I wanted to. Currently I have about 15 minutes walk to the nearest forest - Bois d'Havre where are some nice walking paths.
Today, however, he would like to boast about the park in Enghien, which is about 20 minutes away by car and where I am just as happy to rest. Of course, because of the distance it doesn't happen very often, but whenever I need to reset and relax in the privacy of the charming garden and park, I get in the car and drive to Enghien, the medieval town of the Dukes of Arenberg on the Walloon-Flanders border.
I'll take you for a walk in the park from the "backside", through the entrance from the swimming pool and the golf course, because that's how I usually enter. At the beginning there is a forest with dozens of alleys and paths that intersect on different accounts, some of them leading to the pond of one of the two ponds, but we start from the Seven Star pavilion.
Formerly called the Temple of Hercules, it was built around 1650, the heptagonal pavilion in the southern part of the park generates seven large aisles facing seven facades and seven smaller ones from the corners of the pavilion.
In the past, the garden was considered as one of the most beautiful gardens in Europe, the property underwent huge changes and renovations over three centuries and was classified as one of the most important cultural heritage sites in Wallonia. "Composed of a mosaic of water reservoirs, gardens and woods, the park in Enghien is a botanically remarkable place, with many trees and plants that create a unique autumn landscape".
The larger of the ponds is called the Grand Canal and was dug in the 17th century, the pond is rectangular in shape, about 800 meters long and 65 meters wide, it is one of the most beautiful views in the park, no matter from which side we are. Originally it was called Heron's Pond, but then it was only four hundred metres long and its bottom was lined with tiles. It gradually regained its natural look when the French style gardens were transformed into English style gardens.
Passing further to the north, we slowly reach the palace of the Dukes of Arenberg, a wide meadow leads to it.
From the garden side, the palace looks as impressive as...
... from the front, where there are flower beds with various flowers on the driveway. On the left is another oval pond, and on the right is the palace gardens.
Baron Empain was a great lover of sculptures. His interest in Egyptian civilization is best seen on the palace stairs where there are two sphinxes of Greek bronze. Four other Egyptian Sphinxes are located in the front garden and two in the back of the palace.
"The Florentine Wilderness in bronze with a Louis XIV style base in pink Rance marble was made by Jean Ris. The sculpture was a copy of Pietro Tacca from the Mercato Nuovo fountain in Florence. It is one of the few sculptures from the period of the Dukes of Arenberg"
Many of the statues in the park are birthday gifts exchanged by Empain's spouses.
The Florentine Wilderness is not the only copy in this park, also the statue of Diana is a copy of Houdon's work, the marble original is located in Lisbon, and it was found in Enghien Park thanks to Diana, the daughter of Baron Empain.
At the end of our walk through the park in Enghien there is a French style garden, which is located on the right side of the palace, built on two levels, the lower one is surrounded by another pond with a floating outdoor stage, located in a unique setting.
Today, the palace, gardens and park are managed by the town of Enghien, and are used for city festivals, world fairs and private events. There is enough space for everyone.
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