3-074-968 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

The Royal Palace of Laeken, Brussels, destroyed by fire: searching for valuables, 1890. 'On New Year's Day...a fire, accidentally caused, broke out in the Royal Palace...which was entirely destroyed...Since the accession of the present reigning family, great additions and improvements have been made in the building; many valuable pictures and a great number of art treasures have been added to the collections; and the library was of considerable importance...the ground floor of the left wing contained the Queen's apartments, and the King's apartments were on the first floor: in the right wing, on the ground floor, were the Salle des Gobelins, adorned with fine tapestry, the Salle des Maréchaux, and a room formerly reserved for the late Crown Prince Rudolph of Austria, as a frequent visitor to the Belgian Royal family... The plate was saved, but all the pictures, statues, and other art collections were destroyed, with many other precious articles, and the library, so that the loss of property is immense...We are indebted to a correspondent, Mr. F. Watkins, for the Sketches we have engraved'. From "Illustrated London News", 1890.