Brussels Park (, ; ) is the largest urban public park in central Brussels, Belgium. Formerly known and still sometimes colloquially referred to as the Royal Park (, ), it was also the city's first public park. The area of the rectangular park is . The park is surrounded by the / to the south, the Rue Royale/Koningsstraat to the west, the Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat to the north and the / to the east. The main entrance is on the northern side, opposite the Belgian House of Parliament (Palace of the Nation). An avenue leads to the main pond, from which three other avenues offer views of three important places in Brussels: the Palace of Justice, the Royal Palace and the /. This area is served by Brussels Central Station, as well as by the metro stations Parc/Park (on lines 1 and 5) and Trône/Troon (on lines 2 and 6). History Origins Brussels Park lies on the site of the gardens of the former Palace of Coudenberg, which had been used since the Middle Ages as a hunting ground by the Dukes of Brabant. These grounds were divided into two parts: a large park known as the Warande (game reserve), which extended, towards the end of the reign of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, as far north as the / and south as the ramparts at the Namur Gate; and a small park, located in the Koperbeek valley, between the back of the palace and the Sonian Forest. This small park included a private ornamental garden, which, in the course of its successive redevelopments, was sometimes called leafy, sometimes labyrinth because its landscaping, porticos and basins evoked the Corinthian labyrinth. The opposite hill was occupied by a vineyard which was used until the 16th century, an orangery and aviaries with exotic birds. Further in the valley, the park was embellished with a flower garden and a pond. With its water basins, fountains, imitation rock caves and numerous statues, this Warande Park, as Governor-General Maria Elisabeth of Austria would have known it, was one of the most beautiful in Europe. Destruction and redesign The palace burned down on the night of 3 February 1731 in a fire that took much of the original royal complex. This left behind a field of ruins and a neglected park. Some proposed a partial reconstruction of the site, but the money was lacking. It