| 1897Brussels | |
|---|---|
 Exhibition poster byArt Nouveau artistHenri Privat-Livemont | |
| Overview | |
| BIE-class | Universal exposition |
| Category | Historical Expo |
| Name | Exposition internationale de Bruxelles |
| Building(s) | Palace of the Colonies |
| Area | 36 hectares (89 acres) |
| Visitors | est. 7,800,000 |
| Participant(s) | |
| Countries | 27 |
| Location | |
| Country | Belgium |
| City | Brussels |
| Venue | |
| Coordinates | 50°50′30″N4°23′19.4″E / 50.84167°N 4.388722°E /50.84167; 4.388722 |
| Timeline | |
| Opening | 10 May 1897 (1897-05-10) |
| Closure | 8 November 1897 (1897-11-08) |
| Universal expositions | |
| Previous | World's Columbian Exposition inChicago |
| Next | Exposition Universelle (1900) inParis |
TheBrussels International Exposition (French:Exposition internationale de Bruxelles;Dutch:Wereldtentoonstelling van Brussel) of 1897 was aworld's fair held inBrussels, Belgium, from 10 May 1897 through 8 November 1897. There were 27 participating countries, and an estimated attendance of 7.8 million people.
The main venues of the fair were theParc du Cinquantenaire/Jubelpark, as well as a colonial section in the suburb ofTervuren, showcasingKing Leopold II's personal property: theCongo Free State.[1][2] The two exposition sites were linked by a purpose-built tramway.
The exhibition took place on two different sites comprising 14 sections. The first was located in theParc du Cinquantenaire/Jubelpark in the easternmost part of theCity of Brussels and constituted the main grounds of the fair, and the second in theFlemish suburb ofTervuren, consisted of a colonial section devoted to theCongo Free State, the personal property ofKing Leopold II.[1][2] The two sites were linked by a newtramway line and by theAvenue de Tervueren/Tervurenlaan, an 11 km-long (6.8 mi) grand alley also laid out for this purpose.
TheTervuren section was hosted in thePalace of the Colonies.[1][2] The building was designed by the French architectAlfred-Philibert Aldrophe and the classical gardens by the Frenchlandscape architectElie Lainé. In the main hall, known as the Hall of the Great Cultures (French:Salon des Grandes Cultures), the architect and decoratorGeorges Hobé [fr] designed a distinctive woodenArt Nouveau structure to evoke a Congolese forest, usingBilinga wood, an African tree. The exhibition displayedethnographic objects,stuffed animals and Congolese export products (e.g. coffee, cacao and tobacco). In the park, a temporary "human zoo"—a copy of an African village—was built, in which 60 Congolese people lived for the duration of the exhibition.[3] Seven of them died during their forced stay in Belgium.[4] This exhibition's success led to the permanent establishment of the Museum of the Congo (today'sRoyal Museum for Central Africa) in 1898.
![Wooden structure by Georges Hobé [fr] in the Hall of the Great Cultures during the exhibition](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aTervuren_1897_salon_des_grandes_cultures.jpg)
.jpg)
The primary designers of the fair were among the Belgian masters ofArt Nouveau architecture at the height of the style:Henry van de Velde,Paul Hankar,Gédéon Bordiau, andGustave Serrurier-Bovy.Henri Privat-Livemont produced posters for the exposition.
There seems to be few physical remnants. The smallneoclassical pavilion called theTemple of Human Passions thatVictor Horta designed to house a sculptural relief byJef Lambeaux was completed in time for the fair, but its opening was delayed by disputes until 1899.
A public favorite at the World's Fair wasVieux-Bruxelles (also calledBruxelles-Kermesse), a miniature city and theme park evoking Brussels around 1830. Conceived by George Garnir, and designed by Jules Barbier (not to be confused with the Parisian author), Gombeaux and Ghyssels, withdioramas painted byAlbert Dubosq, Pierre Devis and Armand Lynen, the section occupied 25,000 m2 (270,000 sq ft) of the Parc du Cinquantenaire. Its construction begun on 19 October 1896 and its inauguration took place on 24 April 1897. Somewhat foreshadowingMain Street atDisneyland,Vieux-Bruxelles offered visitors nostalgic, smaller-size reproductions of historic buildings. As Charles Vogel put it,
Bruxelles-Kermesse is the popular city with its numerous distractions, its casual pleasures, its elements of gaiety everywhere renewed. …The visitor is first struck by a set of various constructions: houses , monumental gates, towers, among which stands majestically that of the Chien-Vert restaurant. This is our old town with – reduced to a slightly reduced scale – its buildings of yesteryear, some of which still exist have been faithfully copied and give, thanks to the staff, theabsolute illusion of reality. …The entrance to Brussels-Kermesse is the Porte du Rivage, then come the house of the Count of Egmont, the house of theTrois-Têtes, the Auberge Saint-Laurent, adjoining at theHôtel Ravenstein, –the house of theCheval Marin, the old Butter Market, the Hotel de Nassau, – which, with its superb pear-shaped spire tower, gives asylum to the restaurant estaminet of theGreen Dog already named, – the old gate of Ghent or Flanders, of an astoundingillusionism; the fountain ofManneken-Piss [sic]and that of the Three Pucelles …Should we talk about the Moulin Saint-Michel, the house of Barques, the door of the old Sainte-Catherine church?[5]
Some 27 countries took part in the exhibition, most of them from Europe. For these countries, the pavilions were, as it were, a showcase of their power, wealth and technical skills. With the exception of Oceania, all continents were represented in the exposition. The participating countries were:
| Participating Nations |
|---|
.jpg)
.jpg)
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
