In 1874, the Brussels city authorities, facing a shortage of space in existing cemeteries, decided to purchase a large plot of land along Chaussée de Louvain/Leuvensesteenweg. They commissioned landscape architect Louis Fuchs to develop the 38-hectare site. Fuchs designed a vast landscaped park structured by wide avenues, roundabouts, elegant tree-lined vistas, more private hedged enclosures and grassy areas bordered by paths conducive to contemplation. Like many of his contemporaries, he planted evergreen conifers, oaks, weeping willows and ivy, mainly for their symbolic value, and Japanese cherry trees for their aesthetic appeal when in bloom. After passing the sturdy neo-Etruscan entrance pavilions designed by architect Victor Jamaer, visitors to the cemetery will discover a unique collection of high-quality commemorative monuments, such as the British memorial to the Battle of Waterloo, by Jacques de Lalaing, as well as a number of tombs in the Art Nouveau style. The most notable of these was designed by Victor Horta for a Brussels alderman named François Verheven. Located on the main avenue, the mausoleum consists of an imposing marble base with protruding blocks supporting bronze scrolls, which themselves support an ogival-shaped marble sarcophagus. (Listed 06/02/1997)