Solbosch

Solbosh

"It is a forest full of enchantment, with moving varied beauty. There are majestic paths which sink beneath the tall branches like immense cathedral naves, and winding, picturesque paths with low branches, which sometimes go up a steep incline or down into a dark valley towards the still waters of a pond which spreads its luminous surface beneath the azure sky." (Iwan Gilkin)

The Solbosch plateau was an agricultural area for a long time and was urbanised in several phases following the 1910 International Exposition. To the east, the Solbosch plateau includes the university, residential neighbourhoods and the Ixelles cemetery; to the south is the Boondael chapel, in a neigxhbourhood dedicated to housing, education and rest - on Sundays or of an eternal nature - encompassing the municipalities of Brussels and Ixelles. To the west and south are the Bois de la Cambre and the Forêt de Soignes, the green lung of the capital. Many writers studied at the university, which they have described in their works. Similar to other writers of their time, they often wrote about green spaces, meditated in cemeteries, brought cultural sites to life, and lived in and dreamt of these places, like Iwan Gilkin who described the forest of his childhood. This guide gives them a voice.