Garden Jean-Felix Hap

The garden Jean-Felix Hap (in Dutch: Jean-Felix Hap park/tuin ) is a public park located in the commune of Etterbeek, (Brussels).

This old private garden of the Hap family, dissimulated behind her walls in interior of small island, remains little known if they are not inhabitants of the surroundings, in spite of his ecological and landscape value.

An old private property

The property of one hectare and twenty ares and which includes/understands in its center a castle of the 16th century is bought in 1804 per Albert Joseph Hap burgomaster of the commune of Etterbeek. Of Flemish Renaissance style, the manor house is surrounded by a pond supplied with the source of a ruisselet, the Broebelaar. The masonry of two spans out of two levels was flanked of two square towers, surmounted of a pointed roof. In the north of the park, the family installs soon a small brewery and greenhouses.

At the time of his marriage, in 1851, the son Hap, François-Louis, notary of his state, decides to build a new building, of neo-classic style - 508, fitted of Wavre - safe from the moisture caused by the brook and to brick up a wall around his property. The sudden private mansion of the transformations in 1905 according to the plans of the architect G. Thoelen who lengthens the building and adds a veranda to it. It leaves however intact the murals of Edouard Navez (1840-1910) which decorate the private home, located in the left wing. They evoke landscapes etterbeekois like the Holy-Gertrude church, the mill of royal Hunting, etc

That which will leave its name to the property, Jean-Felix Hap, took part in the foundation of the catholic Union of Etterbeek which is in the beginning many social works in the commune. It is the only member of the dynasty which will be never burgomaster. With its initiative, the park is opened with the public during the beautiful season since November 20th, 1959, date of the signature of a convention with the commune. From this point of view, it makes demolish the greenhouses and redraw the garden. This one is in fact initially open only to the elderly, in exchange of the catch in charge trickle and monitoring of the site by the commune. With died Jean Hap, in 1988, the common one inherited the whole of the property. Its widow however kept the usufruct of the house until her death. The garden, since, was increased of a piece towards the roadway of Wavre, arranged on the site of old Lorfort joineries.

A garden with the obsolete charms

The garden of today is a surprisingly calm place with the obsolete charm. One reaches it by a small door bored in the wall which skirts the roadway. One discovers there the old orangery (v. 1850), which was also used of stable and workshop of artists. Further, beside a ruin only vestige of the old castle is a natural pond supplied with one of the sources of the Broebelaar, affluent of the Maelbeek and a small glazed kiosk.

The central lawn comprises some beautiful subjects - chestnut trees, poplars, maples, catalpas and a Tulipier of Virginia (classified as a remarkable Arbre) - which attest seniority of the property.

Strewn with plants watery and bordered of a pontoon of observation, the pond retouvé a life which it had for a long time lost thanks to the restoration, had operated in 2000, by the landscape gardener Anne-Marie Sauvat: irises of the marshes, nymphea, reeds, potamots crisp, populages of the marsh, cornifles swimming, mints watery, two-handed hammers with broad sheets, etc make it possible watery fauna to reproduce in a regenerated medium.

In 2004, a ground contiguous to summer arranged in natural semi didactic space intended to present various ecological mediums which can be arranged in the urban private gardens to support there the diversity of the flora and indigenous fauna, dry and wet zone, covering hedges and plants, wood pile etc This extension allowed the opening of a second access by the avenue of Auderghem.

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