The Brussels City Museum (french: Musée de la ville de Bruxelles, nl, Museum van de Stad Brussel) is a
municipal
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
, Belgium. Conceived in 1860 and inaugurated in 1887, it is dedicated to the history and folklore of the
City of Brussels
The City of Brussels (french: Ville de Bruxelles or alternatively ''Bruxelles-Ville'' ; nl, Stad Brussel or ''Brussel-Stad'') is the largest municipality and historical City centre, centre of the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region, as well a ...
from its foundation into modern times, which it presents through paintings, sculptures,
tapestries
Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike most woven textiles, where both the warp and the weft threads may ...
,
engraving
Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a Burin (engraving), burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or Glass engraving, glass ...
s, photos and models, including a notable scale-representation of the town during the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
.
The museum is situated on the north side of the square, opposite Brussels' Town Hall, in the ' ("King's House") or ' ("Bread House" or "Bread Hall"). This building, erected between 1504 and 1536, was rebuilt in the 19th century in its current
neo-Gothic
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
style by the architect . Since 1998, is also listed as a
UNESCO World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
, as part of the square. It can be accessed from the ''
premetro
A premetro is a tramway or light railway which includes segments built to rapid transit standards, generally as part of a process of conversion to a metro-standards railway usually by the construction of tunnels in the central city area.
Hist ...
'' (underground tram) station Bourse/Beurs (on lines 3 and 4), as well as the
bus
A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...
stop / (on line 95).
History
Medieval structures
Brussels' Town Hall was erected in stages, between 1401 and 1455, on the south side of the Grand-Place/Grote Markt, transforming the square into the seat of municipal power. To counter this, from 1504 to 1536, the
Duke of Brabant
The Duke of Brabant (, ) was the ruler of the Duchy of Brabant since 1183/1184. The title was created by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in favor of Henry I of the House of Reginar, son of Godfrey III of Leuven (who was duke of Low ...
ordered the construction of a large
Flamboyant
Flamboyant (from ) is a form of late Gothic architecture that developed in Europe in the Late Middle Ages and Renaissance, from around 1375 to the mid-16th century. It is characterized by double curves forming flame-like shapes in the bar-tr ...
edifice across from the city hall to house his administrative services. It was erected on the site of the first cloth and bread markets, which were no longer in use.
The building was first called the ''Duke's House'' ( dum, 's Hertogenhuys, link=no), but when
Charles V Charles V may refer to:
* Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558)
* Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain
* Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise
* Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690)
* Infan ...
, Duke of Brabant since 1506, was crowned
King of Spain
, coatofarms = File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Spanish_Monarch.svg
, coatofarms_article = Coat of arms of the King of Spain
, image = Felipe_VI_in_2020_(cropped).jpg
, incumbent = Felipe VI
, incumbentsince = 19 Ju ...
in 1516, it became known as the ''King's House'' ( dum, 's Conincxhuys, link=no). It is currently known as the ("King's House") in French, although no king has ever lived there, though in Dutch it continues to be called the ("Bread House"), after the market whose place it took. During Charles' reign, the building was completely redone by his court architect in a late Gothic style very similar to the contemporary design, although without towers or galleries. The projects were presented in 1514 and the construction took place between 1515 and 1536.
Destruction and rebuilding
The King's House was rebuilt after suffering extensive damage from the
bombardment of Brussels
The bombardment of Brussels by troops of Louis XIV of France on August 13, 14 and 15, 1695, and the resulting fire were together the most destructive event in the entire history of Brussels. Brussels was mostly untouched by most other confli ...
by a French army under Marshal
François de Neufville, duc de Villeroy
François de Neufville, (2nd) Duke of Villeroy (7 April 164418 July 1730) was a French soldier.
Biography
Villeroy was born in Lyon into noble family which had risen into prominence in the reign of Charles IX. His father Nicolas V de Neufville ...
, in 1695. A second restoration followed in 1767 when it received a neoclassical
portal
Portal often refers to:
* Portal (architecture), an opening in a wall of a building, gate or fortification, or the extremities (ends) of a tunnel
Portal may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Gaming
* ''Portal'' (series), two video games ...
and a large roof pierced with three ''
oeil-de-boeuf
An ''oeil-de-boeuf'' (; en, "bull's eye"), also ''œil de bœuf'' and sometimes anglicized as ''ox-eye window'', is a relatively small elliptical or circular window, typically for an upper storey, and sometimes set in a roof slope as a do ...
'' windows. In the following century, it served for the most diverse uses; from a / ("House of the People") during the occupation of the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
aries of Brussels at the end of the 18th century, to a court, a temporary prison, a storage space for the British cavalry after the
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...
, a rehearsal room of the ''School of Dance'' of the Theatre of La Monnaie, a library, etc.
By the mid-19th century, the state of the building had deteriorated and a comprehensive renovation was sorely needed. Under the impulse of the city's then-mayor,
Charles Buls
Charles Buls or Karel Buls (13 October 1837 – 13 July 1914) was a Belgian politician and mayor of the City of Brussels.
Early life
Charles François Gommaire Buls was born in Brussels as the son of a goldsmith from the region of Mechelen. B ...
, it was reconstructed once again in its current
neo-Gothic
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
form by the architect between 1874 and 1896, in the style of his mentor
Eugène Viollet-le-Duc
Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc (; 27 January 181417 September 1879) was a French architect and author who restored many prominent medieval landmarks in France, including those which had been damaged or abandoned during the French Revolution. H ...
. On that occasion, Jamaer built two galleries and a central tower. He also adorned the facade with statues and other decorations. At the back, he added a new, much more sober wing in Flemish
neo-Renaissance
Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range o ...
style. The new King's House was officially inaugurated in 1896.
The current building, whose interior was renovated in 1985, has housed the Brussels City Museum since 1887. In 1936, it was designated a
historic site
A historic site or heritage site is an official location where pieces of political, military, cultural, or social history have been preserved due to their cultural heritage value. Historic sites are usually protected by law, and many have been rec ...
at the same time as the Town Hall, and in 1998 a
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
with the rest of the Grand-Place.
File:Broodhuis 1640.jpg, The King's House in Brussels, designed by Antoon II Keldermans in 1514
File:Broodhuis.JPG, The King's House before the 19th century
neo-Gothic
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
reconstruction campaign
File:(Belgium) Brussels City Museum Aug 2009 (crop).jpg, The King's House as it appears today
Highlights
The Brussels City Museum features more than 7,000 items, including artefacts, paintings and
tapestries
Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike most woven textiles, where both the warp and the weft threads may ...
from Brussels' history, such as the Town Hall's original sculptures. There are two
diorama
A diorama is a replica of a scene, typically a three-dimensional full-size or miniature model, sometimes enclosed in a glass showcase for a museum. Dioramas are often built by hobbyists as part of related hobbies such as military vehicle mode ...
s of the city of Brussels in its early days and as it began to flourish in the 1500s. The museum's painting collections include works by the Flemish Primitive
Aert van den Bossche
Aert van den Bossche or the Master of the Crispinus and Crispinianus-Legend (also known as Aert Panhedel, Aert van Panhedel, Arnoul de Panhedel, Arnoul Vanden Bossche and Harnoult van den Boske)Charles Meynier (18th century).
The original statue of ''
Manneken Pis
''Manneken Pis'' (; ) is a landmark bronze fountain sculpture in central Brussels, Belgium, depicting a puer mingens; a naked little boy urinating into the fountain's basin. Though its existence is attested as early as the 15th century, it wa ...
'' is on view on the top floor. Many items of the statue's wardrobe, consisting of around one thousand different costumes, could also be viewed in a permanent exhibition inside the museum until February 2017, when a specially designed museum, called ''Garderobe MannekenPis'', opened its doors nearby at 19, /.
The City Museum is open every day except Mondays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. On the first Sunday of every month, admission to the museum is free.
File:Aert van den Bossche - Martyrdom and Beheading of Saints Crispin and Crispinian (Martyrdom of Saints Crispin and Crispinian)(2).jpg, ''Martyrdom of Saints Crispin and Crispinian'',
Aert van den Bossche
Aert van den Bossche or the Master of the Crispinus and Crispinianus-Legend (also known as Aert Panhedel, Aert van Panhedel, Arnoul de Panhedel, Arnoul Vanden Bossche and Harnoult van den Boske)Charles Meynier, 1804
File:NIND MVB-JardinBotanique ISO200.jpg, ''The Botanical Garden'', Paul Vitzthumb, 1828
File:NIND MVB-1887GrandPlace ISO200.jpg, ''Brussels' Town Hall and the Sunday market'',
Cornelis Christiaan Dommersen
Cornelis Christiaan Dommersen (Dommershuijzen), ( Utrecht, 11 November 1842 – The Hague, 23 May 1928) was a Dutch painter and watercolourist. He signed his work as C.C. Dommershuizen, Chr. Dommelshuizen, Christian Dommelshuizen and C. Dommers ...
, 1887
See also
*
History of Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
*
Culture of Belgium
Belgian culture involves both the aspects shared by all Belgians regardless of the language they speak and the differences between the main cultural communities: the Dutch-speaking Belgians (Flemish) and the French-speaking Belgians (mostly ...
*
Belgium in "the long nineteenth century"
In the history of Belgium, the period from 1789 to 1914, dubbed the " long 19th century" by the historian Eric Hobsbawm, includes the end of Austrian rule and periods of French and Dutch occupation of the region, leading to the creation of the ...