AM - Atomium

Today we ventured out a little further afield, so we used Brussel’s public transport system. I had a bit of a sleep in this morning, as I had a fitful night’s sleep due to me having to cough continuously once I went to bed - poor Ian would have had a disrupted night too.

We headed off for the central station, easily bought tickets, and found our way to the correct train going in the right direction. We had to catch two different lines to make our way out to the Atomium, and it all went pretty smoothly. The Atomium was originally constructed for the 1958 Brussels World Expo. It is located on the Hershel Plateau, where the exhibition took place, and is now a museum. It was designed by the civil engineer André Waterkeyn, and architects André and Jean Polak.

It is 102 meters tall, and it is made up of nine 18 metre (diameter) stainless steel clad spheres that are connected, by tubes. The whole structure forms the shape of a unit cell of an iron crystal, magnified 165 billion times. The Atomium was designed to last for 6 months but, due to it’s popularity and success, its destruction was postponed for several years until a decision was taken by the city to keep it. In 2004, 46 years after it was constructed, the Atomium closed for renovation and maintenance. It reopened to the public in 2006.Read more