The Cemetery of Laeken is one of Belgium’s oldest and most beautiful cemeteries. It is the resting place of many famous Belgians and is also known for its magnificent graves and works of art.
The cemetery sits adjacent to the Church of Our Lady of Laeken, which houses the Royal Crypt of Belgium, where members of the Belgian royal family are buried.
Beneath the cemetery itself lies another crypt whose funerary galleries stretch out in eerie silence. We found it beautiful and creepy at the same time.
In this post, you will find everything you need to know for a visit to the Cemetery of Laeken.
How to get there
The Cemetery of Laeken is located in the municipality of Laeken; Leopold I – straat, 77, 1020 Laeken.You can get there by car or by public transport.
The easiest option is by public transport from Brussels city center; take tram number 62 or 93 and stop at Princess Clementine. It’s a 30-minute tram ride from Brussels city center.
The cemetery is open from 8.30 am – 4 pm daily.
The cemetery is definitely worth a visit. Some of the graves are well cared for, clean, and with flowers, others show signs of decay with moss growing on them like a shadow.
To visit the crypt, you have to follow the main path until you can go no further and take the stairs down.
Inaugurated in 1878, the underground burial galleries beneath the cemetery cover an area of more than one hectare. There are 3 tunnels in the crypt, similar to the main paths above. The most recent burials date from 1978, when the crypt had already been neglected for a long time. Due to liquifying coffins and exploding caskets, the place was in a very nasty state. More than 30 years later, the local government restored the crypt and in 2017 it was open again to the public.
