The miraculous spring at Laeken

In Brussels' Royal Laeken Park, not far from the residence of the King of Belgium, at the busy intersection of Avenue des Trembles Abelen, Avenue des Robiniers and Drève Sainte-Anne, sit a small, nearly dried-up fountain and a little chapel.

You may be forgiven for missing these structures while driving along. 

Yet, that would be a pity.

The fountain is known as Saint Anne Fountain, or otherwise the fountain of ‘five wounds’ (of Christ), and a chapel is also named after the mother of the Virgin Mary. 

There is a compelling history related to their foundation. 

The de facto ruler of the Spanish (Habsburg) Netherlands, as Belgium in the 16th century was known, Archduchess Isabella Clara Eugenia, on advice of her Recollect Franciscan confessor and spiritual counsellor Fr. Andrés de Soto, had this fountain built in 1625 at a source of water, which sprang from the ground at the foot of an oak tree bearing an image of the Virgin Mary. 

The water was famed for its miraculous properties. And, most crucially, it had cured the Infanta from fever. 

The design of the fountain was rife with symbolism. Five water jets gush out of a rose window, decorated with acanthus and laurels, symbolizing the five wounds of Christ. Hence, the other name of the fountain. 

The co-sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands had an artery laid out to connect the fountain with the church of Norte-Dame de Laeken (seen in this 18^th cent. painting by Andréas Martin), such was the importance she attached to the miraculous spring. This artery, no surprise, is called Drève Sainte-Anne.

La drève Sainte-Anne à Laeken, Andréas Martin.

Near the fountain, the Archduchess also built a chapel, dedicated to St. Anne, in place of a 14^th century building that had long drawn pilgrims. 

These efforts spoke to the zeal of the Spanish Catholic monarchs, with which they engaged in the Counter-Reformation. Today's Belgium was the battleground against Protestantism. So these projects projected a clear message that transcended a purely spiritual meaning.

While the fountain withstood the test of time, the adjacent chapel fell victim to vandalism in the twentieth century. Thankfully, it was given a new lease of life after being handed over to the Russian Orthodox Church. It is now well looked-after.

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Across the street, housed in the former military quarters sits the European School,
 

The European School, Laeken campus, opposite the fountain

 
cars whizz by, people walk through this grassy knoll, yet the history of this little hallowed ground, is all but forgotten.

I doubt many people stop to read a Latin inscription on an old marble plaque adorning the fountain.

Yet, there is a story to tell, and I'd be glad if the reader of my blog found it interesting.

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THE FOUNTAIN IS ACCESSIBLE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC (LIMITED OPENING TIMES OF THE CHAPEL)