Baron Empain Palace
History: Baron Palace or Qasr El-Baron is one of Cairo’s unique landmarks that
has been known for its extraordinary and curious architecture. Baron Empain’s
Palace was built in 1906 to be the residence of the Belgian industrialist
Edouard Empain who came to Egypt in 1904 to construct a railway line linking
the lower Egyptian city of Mansoura to Mataria on the far side of Lake Manzala.
The Palace's Structure: Baron Empain acquired the 6,000 acres of desert land, over which he
intended to build his city with all the necessary infrastructures, like water,
drains and electricity, hotel facilities such as the Palace Hotel and
Heliopolis House, and recreational luxuries including a golf course, racetrack,
and park. French architect Alexander Marcel built him the palace in the Avenue of
Palaces in Heliopolis (now Al-Orouba Street), being inspired by the Cambodian
temple of Angkor Wat and the Hindu temple of Orissa. Marcel incorporated into
the external design reproductions of a variety of human figures, statues of
Indian dancers, elephants, snakes, Buddhas, Shivas, and Krishnas. Marcel’s
colleague Georges-Louis Claude designed the interior and the decoration. Both
architects were well-known at the time, and they had already constructed the
Oriental Pavilion attached to the Royal Palace of Laeken in Belgium.
The palace consists of two floors and a small extension near the roof.
Windows studded with small pieces of Belgian glass were specially created so as
not to lose sight of the sun during the day. Construction was completed in
1911, and the palace was surrounded by a landscaped garden adorned with
ascending green terraces, each with its own set of marble statues and exotic
vegetation.
Address: Al-Orouba Street, Heliopolis
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