Jardin de la reine - Tournai

To expand the city, the "Jardin de la reine" (Garden of the Queen) was created in 1872 as a result of the dismantling of the city's fortified defenses under the Ancien Régime. The park was constructed at the site of the ramparts, moats and bastions that defended the old city gate of the "Seven Fountains" .

When Louis XIV conquered Tournai, he chose to destroy or reuse all the fortifications and asked Vauban to reconfigure them. The latter chose to canalize the Scheldt and reduce its flow, and then installed buttresses. Virtually nothing is left of the old fortifications , except for discrete stones on the “Scheldt side” of the garden. We see a stretch of white stones, partly covered with ivy, which remains of a “stronghold” , an artillery boulevard . Cannons were installed there to shoot at the enemy, especially at boats passing through the Scheldt.

These old city walls, which rose up to seven meters high , date from the English occupation between 1513 and 1519 (under Henry VIII). We see white diamond-cut stones, typical of English fortifications.

The park largely consists of a water feature that is approximately at the same level as the nearby Scheldt . The park suffered the full force of the violent storm of May 2009 , which was fatal to many venerable trees. The vacated space was planted with mahonias, hydrangeas and hibiscus, flowering species that meet Tournai's wishes.

You can admire a black walnut (Juglans nigra), the largest in the country, bald cypresses (Taxodium distichum), beautiful purple beech trees (Fagus sylvatica "Atropurpurea") and many other species.

willem vandenameele