Leopold II

Leopold II
(1835-1909)
   Leopold Louis Philippe Marie Victor de Saxe-Cobourg-Gotha, the second king of the Belgians, was born in Brussels on 9 April 1835, the son of King Leopold I and Queen Louise-Marie d'Orleans. He was raised under a strict regimen at the Château royal de Laeken. On 22 August 1853, he married Archduchess Marie-Henriette of Hungary in a civil ceremony at the Palais Royal and a religious service at the collegiate church of Saints-Michel-et-Gudule, followed by an ommegang through the city streets.
   As duke of Brabant, Leopold traveled widely and he showed an early, keen interest in urban development in Brussels. He assumed the throne in 1865 and set out to raise the status of his kingdom on the world stage. Befitting that goal, Leopold affirmed that "Brussels can become the turntable of Europe," and to further that aim he supported expanding and updating the capital's transportation infrastructure together with an ambitious building program. Known as the "king-builder," he backed the project to vault the Senne River and lay out the central boulevards. He was a driving force behind redevelopment of the Mont des Arts and construction of the Basilique nationale de Sacré-Coeur. The king promoted development of the avenue Louise and environs, the Palais de Justice, the royal grounds at Laeken, the Cinquantenaire, and the avenue de Tervuren, the thoroughfare designed to link the latter complex with the royal estate in Tervuren as well as the Musée royale de l'Afrique centrale.
   Strong-willed and energetic, Leopold contributed substantial funds to building projects, much of it drawn from the enormous fortune he acquired from exploitation of the Congo Free State, a colony he ruled personally from 1885 to 1908.
   Scandalous in his private life, the king maintained a succession of mistresses, but he left no heir. His only son died at age 10, and he barred his three daughters from the succession, which passed to his nephew Albert I. Leopold died in the palm greenhouse (Serres royales) at Laeken on 17 December 1909. An equestrian statue of the king by Thomas Vinçotte (1850-1925) stands in place du Trône.

Historical Dictionary of Brussels. .

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Leopold II — Leopold hießen folgende Herrscher: Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Leopold I. 2 Leopold II. 3 Leopold III. 4 Leopold IV./... 5 Leopold... 6 Nichtreg …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Leopold — ist sowohl ein männlicher Vorname als auch ein Familienname. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Herkunft und Bedeutung 2 Varianten 3 Bekannte Namensträger 3.1 Vorname …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Leopold — Léopold Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Léopold du germanique liut / d, peuple et bold, courageux est un prénom assez répandu. Il était très courant autour du Xe siècle et du… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Leopold — may refer to:* People: ** Leopold (ruler) (disambiguation) ** J. H. Leopold (1865 1925), Dutch poet ** Robert Lawrence Leopold (1916 1941), American sailor ** Aldo Leopold (1887 1948), American forester ** Nathan Leopold (1904 1971), American… …   Wikipedia

  • Leopold I. — Leopold I. werden folgende Herrscher genannt: Leopold I. (HRR), Kaiser (1640 1705) Leopold I. (Belgien), König (1831 1865) Leopold I. Großherzog der Toskana ist: Leopold II. (HRR) Leopold I. (Baden), Großherzog (1830 1852) Leopold I. (Mähren),… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Leopold II. — Leopold II. werden folgende Personen genannt: Leopold II. (HRR) (1790–1792), Kaiser Leopold II. (Belgien) (1865–1909), König Leopold II. (Toskana) (1824–1859), Großherzog Leopold II. von Habsburg (1328–1344), vielleicht kurz Regent in… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Leopold I — Léopold Ier  Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents souverains partageant un même nom. Le nom de Léopold Ier fut porté par plusieurs princes et souverains européens dont : Léopold Ier de Babenberg (mort en 994), margrave d… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Léopold I — Léopold Ier  Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents souverains partageant un même nom. Le nom de Léopold Ier fut porté par plusieurs princes et souverains européens dont : Léopold Ier de Babenberg (mort en 994), margrave d… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Leopold [1] — Leopold (Leupold, Liutpold, »kühn, tapfer für das Volk«), deutscher Mannesname, unter dessen Trägern hervorzuheben sind: [Deutsche Kaiser.] 1) L. I. Ignaz Joseph Balthasar Felician, geb. 9. Juni 1640, gest. 5. Mai 1705 in Wien, zweiter Sohn… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Leopold II — is a human name, and may refer to:* Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany (1797 1870), Archduke of Austria * Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor (1747 1792), Grand Duke of Tuscany * Leopold II, Margrave of Austria (1050 1095), fifth Margrave of Austria *… …   Wikipedia

  • Leopold [1] — Leopold. I. Regierende Fürsten. A) Deutsche Kaiser. 1) L. I, Sohn des Kaisers Ferdinand III. u. dessen erster Gemahlin Maria Anna, geb. Prinzessin von Spanien, geb. 9. Juni 1640, war ursprünglich zum geistlichen Stande bestimmt u. widmete sich… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”