Terrasses des Minimes, Historic terraced gardens in Liège, Belgium

The Terrasses des Minimes are a terraced pleasure garden on the slope behind the Palace of the Prince-Bishops, named after the ruins of the Minimes convent and its terraced garden. The west part is lawned with beds of wild nitrophilous-ruderal plants, while the east part, the Bois des Minimes, is largely wooded. Old walls 2 to 10 metres high are covered with thick sheets of ivy.

Religious orders including the Teutonic Knights began shaping these terraces from the 13th century onward. The French Revolution brought major changes in 1796 when properties were seized and the land passed to different hands.

The name comes from the ruined Minimes convent and its terraced garden. In 1624 the Minimes from Jupille settled beside the Teutonic Order, and the two communities quarrelled over the wall dividing their adjoining gardens. A south-facing wall holds brick niches built to shelter beehives, dated before 1626 by the size and texture of their bricks; only one large niche survives intact.

The gardens are open daily without entrance fees, with access from rue Pierreuse and multiple walking paths leading through different sections. The terrain is quite steep with many steps, so sturdy shoes and some time to climb are helpful.

One south-south-east facing wall is what beekeepers call a "bee wall": it originally held four large brick niches, each containing a smaller recess for a hive. Only one large niche survives intact; a second was walled up and its outline is still visible. Brick size and texture date the niches to before 1626.