Brussels City Museum

Brief information

The Brussels City Museum is arranged so that the city can be seen here on two scales at once: outside, it is the Bread House on the Grand Place; inside, it is the history of Brussels, gathered in objects, images, and models. This juxtaposition matters: the museum has not been removed from the urban fabric, but stands on a square whose architectural ensemble is included on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The museum was conceived in the 1860s and opened in 1887, but it is not simply about antiquity for antiquity’s sake. Its theme is the history and folklore of Brussels from its founding to the present day. One fact especially changes expectations: until February 2017, the original statue of Manneken Pis was housed here. This means that even the city’s most recognizable symbol was part of a broader history of the city in this museum, rather than a separate postcard image.

What to notice first

It makes sense to compare three groups of things. The first is the building itself on the Grand Place: the Bread House connects the museum with the square, rather than turning it into a neutral repository. The second is the models and dioramas of Brussels: among them are a scale representation of the medieval city and two dioramas showing early Brussels and the city during its flourishing in the 1500s. They help you see not a single monument, but the structure of the city over time.

The third group consists of different types of exhibits: paintings, sculptures, tapestries, engravings, tableware, historical costumes, and photographs. They are worth seeing not as a long list, but as a succession of ways in which the city left traces of itself: through images, objects, clothing, everyday items, and urban models.