The
Royal Domain of Laeken is extensive, about , or slightly smaller than
Monaco. The gardens are surrounded by walls and iron gates, and are closed to the public, although there have been calls for the king to open at least a portion of the park for public use amid the
COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium. The gardens of the Royal Domain are landscaped in
English style; the vast park includes lakes, a golf course and artworks. King
Leopold II was very closely connected with the designs of his private gardens. It is in these gardens that his only son,
Prince Leopold, Duke of Brabant, fell in a pond, and died subsequently from pneumonia, aged only nine. The king had trees planted for his new-born children, which still stand in the park. There are various pavilions, including the Chinese Pavilion and the
Japanese Tower. They were commissioned by Leopold II and now form part of the
Museums of the Far East. The rooms of the Chinese Pavilion are designed in
chinoiserie Louis XIV and
Louis XVI styles. They are decorated with Chinese motifs,
chinaware and
silverware. The Japanese Tower is a
pagoda (known as a
Tō), inspired by a construction Leopold II saw at the
Paris Exposition of 1900. Leopold II commissioned his architect
Alexandre Marcel to build him a similar one in Laeken. In the gardens live several colonies of
Canada geese, hundreds of
great cormorants and other large birds. The gardens are also home to one of the biggest colonies of
grey herons in the country. File:Castle of Laeken.JPG|Main façade of the Palace of Laeken File:0 Château Royal de Laeken - Jardins 2.JPG|The gardens of the
Royal Domain and the
Japanese Tower File:Lawn - Royal Castle of Laeken - Brussels, Belgium - DSC07103.jpg|Great Lawn of the Royal Domain ==Royal Greenhouses==