Belgium
is a beautiful country with much to photograph. However, do
not assume that you are free to to take holiday or vacation
pictures as you are in the United States, Canada, and Great
Britain. Belgian copyright laws are not like ours, and if you
take a picture of the wrong landmark you will be sued no matter
where you live. Photograph at your own risk.
Like
the world-famous Eiffel
Tower, the less-famous Tour Japonaise was a feature
at the International Exposition in Paris.
Though the world was taken by storm by the Eiffel
Tower in 1889, by 1900 the Tour Japonaise seemed exotic,
but still tame in comparison. Not everyone had become
so jaded. The ruler of Belgium, King Leopold II, was
so taken with the building that he had it packed up
and moved 165 miles (266 kilometers) from Paris to
the park surrounding Château
Royal de Læken (Koninklijk Kasteel), home
of the Belgian Royal Family. Leopold's affinity for
eastern architecture is also demonstrated in the Chinese
Pavilion that he also snatched up at the Paris show
and placed across the road from the Tour Japonaise.
The plan was to accumulte a number of exotic buildings
from around the world along the same stretch of road
in the Parc Royale. But only three were ever located
here.