Parc Forestier, Protected heritage park in Anderlecht, Brussels

Parc Forestier is a public park in Anderlecht, Brussels, on the site of the former communal cemetery. The sloping lawn is dotted with small white flowers and crossed by shadows; a large tree with a thick brown trunk stands left of centre, and darker foliage, including a reddish-purple tree, marks the far edge. More than 280 trees grow here, among them ashes, maples, limes, black locusts, pines and hollies.

Anderlecht's communal cemetery opened here in 1854 and received its last burial in 1953, when the Vogelenzang cemetery opened in 1954. Between 1954 and 1967 the grounds were gradually converted into a park, which opened in 1967. The blue-stone entrance pillars and five bays of the original enclosure wall were kept, the only architectural remains of the cemetery.

The park still carries visible traces of its past as a cemetery, with holly bushes and old trees growing where graves once stood. These plants give the place a rooted, layered feeling that sets it apart from a standard city park.

The park has several entrances, including a main one on Place du Repos and others on Rue Démosthène and Rue du Souvenir. The nearest metro station, Aumale, is close by, and inside the park you can find a children's play area and a pétanque court.

Two black locust trees in the park are among the largest of their kind in all of Brussels, with trunks measuring more than 3 meters around. The park was listed as a protected site in 1997 partly because of these trees.