What's the royal connection with this door?

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Last weekend, we travelled from Brussels (capital of Belgium) to our homeplace Sint-Niklaas by train.



While walking into the railway station of Brussels Central, we were thinking how the royal family of Belgium travelled by train. I think they had much more comfort and even special trains.


royal trains, Train World museum in Schaarbeek


As always, in Brussels Central we passed a special door and the coat of arms suggests that this place has a royal connection. 


👀 How do you think about the coat of arms of the
Belgian royal family? 


This is the entrance of the royal salon in Brussels Central. Once four Belgian railway stations had such a royal salon: Brussels-North, South and Central, and Ostend. The salons in Ostend and Brussels North have disappeared, the one in Brussels South is used as a meeting room.  Only the salon in Brussels Central has retained its original grandeur.


History


On 4 October 1952 the royal salon in Brussels Central was officially  opened by King Baudouin of Belgium. It is the first and also the last time that the salon is used as a waiting area. 

King Baudouin would receive a number of heads of state there over the course of the 1950s, including the Shah of Iran, the President of Argentina and the Emperor of Ethiopia.




King Baudouin of Belgium, statue
own picture taken in October 2023



Shah of Iran till 1979
Source picture: Wikipedia


Emperor of Ethiopia till 1974
Source picture: Wikipedia


This place full of history was once the property of the Court, but since 2007 the NMBS has been responsible for it. The royal family does retain the option to reclaim the salon.


Nowadays


When King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of The Netherlands arrived by train on their state visit to Belgium in 2023, they arrived in  railway station Brussels South. They they immediately proceeded to the royal palace in Brussels. So they didn't need a royal salon in the station.


Source picture: Bjorn Hoex

However it would be nice if such great royal destinations were preserved for the future. 



I took the pictures of the royal train, the statue of King Baudouin of Belgium and the doors of the royal salon in 2023 in Brussels. 

Location: Brussels, Belgium

Comments

Jonathan said…
The coat of arms of Belgium to which you refer is finely stylized.
October 30, 2023 at 3:45 PM
Kathleen Van Lierop said…
Thank you so much for commenting Jonathan! Yes I liked the style of the coat of arms too. Very modern!
November 1, 2023 at 5:21 PM
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