The BELvue Museum (french: Musée BELvue, nl, BELvue Museum) is a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

in central

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, that focuses on the

history of Belgium The history of Belgium extends before the founding of the modern state of that name in 1830, and is intertwined with those of its neighbors: the Netherlands, Germany, France and Luxembourg. For most of its history, what is now Belgium was either ...

. It is managed by the

King Baudouin Foundation The King Baudouin Foundation (KBF) ( nl, Koning Boudewijnstichting, KBS; french: Fondation Roi-Baudouin) is an independent, pluralistic foundation based in Brussels (Belgium). It seeks to change society for the better and invests in inspiring proj ...

(KBF). The museum is located in the Hôtel Bellevue, an 18th-century neoclassical '' hôtel'' (townhouse) between the / and the Place Royale/Koningsplein, next to the

Royal Palace of Brussels The Royal Palace of Brussels (french: Palais royal de Bruxelles, , nl, Koninklijk Paleis van Brussel , german: Königlicher Palast von Brüssel) is the official palace of the King and Queen of the Belgians in the centre of the nation's capita ...

. This site is served by

Brussels Central Station Brussels Central Station (french: Gare de Bruxelles-Central, nl, Station Brussel-Centraal), officially Brussels-Central (french: Bruxelles-Central, link=no, nl, Brussel-Centraal, link=no), is a railway and metro station in central Brussels, B ...

, as well as by the

metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...

stations Parc/Park (on lines 1 and 5) and Trône/Troon (on lines 2 and 6).

History

In 1977, the Hôtel Bellevue was converted into a museum building, housing a collection from the nearby

Royal Museums of Art and History The Royal Museums of Art and History (french: Musées royaux d'Art et d'Histoire, nl, Koninklijke Musea voor Kunst en Geschiedenis) or RMAH is a group of museums in Brussels, Belgium. It is part of the Belgian Federal government, federal insti ...

. After 1992, two small museums opened in the building relating to the history of the

Belgian monarchy Belgium is a constitutional, hereditary, and popular monarchy. The monarch is titled king or queen of the Belgians ( nl, Koning(in) der Belgen, french: Roi / Reine des Belges}, german: König(in) der Belgier) and serves as the country's he ...

: the Dynasty Museum (french: Musée de la Dynastie, link=no, nl, Museum van de Dynastie, link=no) and the King Baudouin Memorial (french: Mémorial Roi Baudouin, link=no, nl, Memorial Koning Boudewijn, link=no). In 2005, the Hôtel Bellevue reopened as a museum devoted to the

, presenting a chronological display about the nation's history since 1830.

Museum

Since its opening, the BELvue Museum, managed by the

(KBF), has completely renewed its permanent exhibition. Employing a theme-based approach and with a modern, interactive exhibition layout, the museum offers visitors the keys to understanding Belgium and Belgian society. Seven social themes are addressed in the rooms: democracy, prosperity, solidarity, pluralism, migration, language and Europe. Each theme is firstly presented from the perspective of the present day, then subsequently developed and explained through the history of Belgium. In the BELvue’s new exhibition, history is not an end in itself, but rather a means to explain and provide the keys to understanding and interpreting our society. This overview of Belgium's past and present is complemented by a gallery of more than 200 objects. Presented chronologically from the 19th century to today, the pieces embody Belgium’s "physical memory". Visitors will find everyday objects, works of art and design, well-known brands, scientific discoveries, references to great sporting achievements as well as objects that recall the richness of our popular culture.

References

Notes

External links

Official English-language site of the BELvue Museum

Official English-language site of the King Baudouin Foundation
{{Authority control Museums in Brussels History museums in Belgium 2005 establishments in Belgium Museums established in 2005 City of Brussels Historiography of Belgium

History

Museum

See also

References

Notes

External links