Museum of the City of Brussels

The Brussels City Museum (french: Musée de la ville de Bruxelles, nl, Museum van de Stad Brussel) is a municipal museum on the Grand-Place/Grote Markt of Brussels, Belgium. Conceived in 1860 and inaugurated in 1887, it is dedicated to the history and folklore of the City of Brussels from its foundation into modern times, which it presents through paintings, sculptures, tapestries, engravings, photos and models, including a notable scale-representation of the town during the Middle Ages.

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 style by the architect . Since 1998, is also listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as part of the square. It can be accessed from the ''premetro'' (underground tram) station Bourse/Beurs (on lines 3 and 4), as well as the bus 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 ordered the construction of a large Flamboyant 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, Duke of Brabant since 1506, was crowned King of Spain 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 by a French army under Marshal François de Neufville, duc de Villeroy, in 1695. A second restoration followed in 1767 when it received a neoclassical portal and a large roof pierced with three '' oeil-de-boeuf'' windows. In the following century, it served for the most diverse uses; from a / ("House of the People") during the occupation of the French Revolutionaries 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, 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, it was reconstructed once again in its current neo-Gothic form by the architect between 1874 and 1896, in the style of his mentor Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. 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 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 at the same time as the Town Hall, and in 1998 a UNESCO World Heritage Site 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 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 from Brussels' history, such as the Town Hall's original sculptures. There are two dioramas 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 (15th century) and the French historical painter Charles Meynier (18th century).

The original statue of ''Manneken Pis'' 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, 1490
File:Aert van den Bossche - Martyrdom and Beheading of Saints Crispin and Crispinian (Martyrdom of Saints Crispin and Crispinian).jpg, ''Martyrdom of Saints Crispin and Crispinian'', Van den Bossche, 1490
File:NIND MVB-Bombardement ISO200.jpg, ''The Grand-Place on fire during the night of 13th to 14th August 1695'', Anonymous; 146 x 180 cm
File:NIND MVB-heraldicLion ISO200.jpg, Heraldic lion, end of the 18th century
File:Meynier Bonaparte premier consul.jpg, ''Bonaparte first consul'', 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, 1887

See also

* History of Brussels
* Culture of Belgium
* Belgium in "the long nineteenth century"

References

Notes

Bibliography

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Museums in Brussels
City of Brussels
Protected heritage sites in Brussels
Museums established in 1887
1887 establishments in Belgium
History museums in Belgium
City museums in Belgium