Japanese Garden of Hasselt

The Japanese Garden of Hasselt is a park in the Belgian city of Hasselt. Designed in the traditional 17th-century style, it was donated to the Belgian city by the city of Itami. It is the largest Japanese garden in Europe.[1][2]

Japanese Garden
Kōrokan in Hasselt's Japanese Garden
TypeJapanese garden
LocationGouverneur Verwilghensingel 15, Hasselt, Belgium
Coordinates50°56′07″N 5°21′21″E
Area2.5 hectares (6.2 acres)
StatusOpen year round

History

The garden was designed by the Japanese architect Takayuki Inoue.[1][3] The garden was built by a group of skilled Japanese gardeners in the early 1990s, and inaugurated on 20 November 1992, after 250 working days.[2][1]

The location for the garden was chosen by architect Inoue.[1] The city of Itami provided all financial and material contributions.[1] The planting of the chosen area was preserved as closer to the original as possible, showing the respect for nature of the Japanese.[1]

The skilled Japanese gardeners landscaped the chosen site with a small hill, flowing brook, waterfall, pebbly beach, bridges, tea house and a number of other traditional Japanese buildings.[2][1] Stones were brought from Austria to build the bridges, whereas the buildings were built exclusively with materials brought in from Japan.[1] Many trees and bushes were planted.[1] Measuring 2.5 hectares, Hasselt's Japanese garden is the largest Japanese garden in Europe.[4][5][6]

The best time to visit it is considered to be spring, when 250 cherry trees flower.[4][2]

  • Bridge with tea house in the background
    Bridge with tea house in the background
  • Waterfall
    Waterfall
  • Waterfall 2
    Waterfall 2
  • The Tea House
    The Tea House
  • Hill with traditional Japanese building
    Hill with traditional Japanese building
  • Yatsuhashi bridges
    Yatsuhashi bridges
  • Sawatari-ishi, stepping stones over water
    Sawatari-ishi, stepping stones over water
  • Flowering cherry blossom (sakura)
    Flowering cherry blossom (sakura)

References
  1. "The Japanese Garden Today". www.visithasselt.be.
  2. "Hidden Belgium: The largest Japanese garden in Europe". The Brussels Times.
  3. "Chasing Cherry Blossom in Japanse Tuin Hasselt (Japanese Garden of Hasselt)". www.theflashpacker.net.
  4. Jacobs, Peter; Wouter, Rawoens (2003). Best of Belgium la Belgique comme vous devez la voir. Lannoo. p. 54. ISBN 9789020952087.
  5. De Moor, Paul; Antoine, Jean-Marie; Blyth, Derek (2006). 365 dagen België. Lannoo. ISBN 9789020967821.
  6. Belgium and Luxembourg. Fodor's Travel Publications. 2001. p. 174. ISBN 9780679007708.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.