Jewish Museum of Belgium in Brussels

7 June 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Museums, Exhibitions Reading Time:  7 minutes

© flickr.com - Miguel Discart/cc-by-sa-2.0

© flickr.com – Miguel Discart/cc-by-sa-2.0

The Jewish Museum of Belgium (French: Musée juif de Belgique, Dutch: Joods Museum van België) is a museum in the Sablon/Zavel neighbourhood of Brussels, Belgium, focusing on the history of the Jews in Belgium.   read more…

Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula in Brussels

1 June 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, House of the Month Reading Time:  7 minutes

The nave © Diego Delso/cc-by-sa-4.0

The nave © Diego Delso/cc-by-sa-4.0

The Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula (French: Cathédrale des Saints Michel et Gudule, Dutch: Kathedraal van Sint-Michiel en Sint-Goedele), usually shortened to the Cathedral of St. Gudula or St. Gudula by locals, is a medieval Roman Catholic cathedral in central Brussels, Belgium. It is dedicated to Saint Michael and Saint Gudula, the patron saints of the City of Brussels, and is considered to be one of the finest examples of Brabantine Gothic architecture.   read more…

Botanical Garden of Brussels

21 March 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks Reading Time:  7 minutes

The main orangery buiding © Edison McCullen/cc-by-sa-4.0

The main orangery buiding © Edison McCullen/cc-by-sa-4.0

The Botanical Garden of Brussels (French: Jardin botanique de Bruxelles, Dutch: Kruidtuin van Brussel) is a former botanical garden in Brussels, Belgium. It was created in 1826 and stood on the Rue Royale/Koningsstraat in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, near Brussels’ Northern Quarter financial district, until its relocation in 1938 to the National Botanic Garden of Belgium in Meise, Flemish Brabant. Since 1984, the main orangery building has been a cultural complex and music venue of the French Community of Belgium known as Le Botanique. It can be accessed from Brussels-North railway station and Botanique/Kruidtuin metro station on lines 2 and 6 of the Brussels Metro.   read more…

National Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Brussels

9 March 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

© Diego Delso/cc-by-sa-4.0

© Diego Delso/cc-by-sa-4.0

The National Basilica of the Sacred Heart (French: Basilique Nationale du Sacré-Cœur, Dutch: Nationale Basiliek van het Heilig-Hart) is a Roman Catholic Minor Basilica and parish church in Brussels, Belgium. It is dedicated to the Sacred Heart, inspired by the Basilique du Sacré-Coeur in Paris. Symbolically, King Leopold II laid the first stone in 1905 during the celebrations of the 75th anniversary of Belgian Independence. The construction was halted by the two World Wars and finished only in 1970. Belonging to the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Mechelen–Brussels, it is one of the largest churches by area in the world.   read more…

Royal Theatre of La Monnaie in Brussels

26 February 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Opera Houses, Theaters, Libraries Reading Time:  5 minutes

© Sally V/cc-by-4.0

© Sally V/cc-by-4.0

The Royal Theatre of La Monnaie is an opera house in central Brussels, Belgium. The National Opera of Belgium, a federal institution, takes the name of this theatre in which it is housed—La Monnaie in French or De Munt in Dutch—referring both to the building as well as the opera company. As Belgium’s leading opera house, it is one of the few cultural institutions to receive financial support from the Federal Government of Belgium. Other opera houses in Belgium, such as the Vlaamse Opera and the Opéra Royal de Wallonie, are funded by regional governments.   read more…

Royal Palace of Brussels

21 February 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks Reading Time:  8 minutes

© Matthias Zepper/cc-by-sa-3.0

© Matthias Zepper/cc-by-sa-3.0

The Royal Palace of Brussels is the official palace of the King and Queen of the Belgians in the centre of the nation’s capital, Brussels. However, it is not used as a royal residence, as the king and his family live in the Royal Palace of Laeken in northern Brussels. The website of the Belgian Monarchy describes the function of the Royal Palace as follows:   read more…

European Quarter in Brussels

5 February 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, EU blog post series, European Union Reading Time:  16 minutes

Rue de la Loi © flickr.com - Euro Pictures/cc-by-2.0

Rue de la Loi © flickr.com – Euro Pictures/cc-by-2.0

Most of the European Union’s Brussels-based institutions are located within its European Quarter (French: Quartier Européen, Dutch: Europese Wijk), which is the unofficial name of the area corresponding to the approximate triangle between Brussels Park, Cinquantenaire Park and Leopold Park (with the European Parliament’s hemicycle extending into the latter). The Commission and Council are located on either side of the Rue de la Loi at the heart of this area near Schuman railway station and the Robert Schuman Roundabout.   read more…

Royal Museum for Central Africa in Tervuren

28 January 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Museums, Exhibitions Reading Time:  6 minutes

© EmDee/cc-by-sa-3.0

© EmDee/cc-by-sa-3.0

The Royal Museum for Central Africa or RMCA (Dutch: Koninklijk Museum voor Midden-Afrika or KMMA; French: Musée royal de l’Afrique centrale or MRAC; German: Königliches Museum für Zentralafrika or KMZA), also officially known as the AfricaMuseum, is an ethnography and natural history museum situated in Tervuren in Flemish Brabant, Belgium, just outside Brussels. It was built to showcase King Leopold II’s Congo Free State in the International Exposition of 1897.   read more…

Belgian Comic Strip Center in Brussels

10 January 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Museums, Exhibitions Reading Time:  7 minutes

© TADOR/cc-by-sa-3.0

© TADOR/cc-by-sa-3.0

The Belgian Comic Strip Center (French: Centre belge de la Bande dessinée; Dutch: Belgisch Stripcentrum) is a museum in Brussels, Belgium, dedicated to Belgian comics. It is located at 20, rue des Sables/Zandstraat, in an Art Nouveau building designed by Victor Horta, and can be accessed from Brussels-Congress railway station and Brussels Central Station. The building was designed in 1905 by the world-famous architect Victor Horta, in Art Nouveau style, and served as a textile department store, the Magasins Waucquez. After Waucquez’s death in 1920, the building began to languish away, and in 1970, the firm closed its doors. Jean Delhaye, a former aide of Horta, saved the building from demolition, and by 16 October 1975, it was designated as a protected monument. Still, the building was in bad shape and victim to a lot of vandalism.   read more…

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