Heritage Days

On Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 September 2022 in the Brussels Region and on the territory of the City of Brussels.Discover the wealth of buildings, institutions and real-estate in Brussels during the Heritage Days. Every year a specific theme allows to discover Brussels from another point of view. The 2022 theme is 'Traces of colonisation'.

This tour of the Art & History Museum and Parc du Cinquantenaire/Jubelpark will provide an opportunity to reflect on the colonial past of the young Belgian state. The museum, for example, houses a plaster copy of the monumental equestrian statue of Leopold II. The tour will examine the history of this work as well as that of the museum itself and the ivories in its Art Nouveau collection. Both the museum and the park are home to statues and monuments with a direct or indirect link to the Congo. State-sponsored artist Thomas Vinçotte played a key role in the creation of these works. The tour will highlight the part played by such individuals in Belgium’s past and address the repercussions of their actions from a contemporary perspective.

Sat & Sun at 10:30 and 14:30 in EN, FR, NL (duration: 1 hour)

Starting point: outside the entrance to the Art & History Museum, Parc du Cinquantenaire/Jubelpark 10, Brussels

Advance booking required. Up to 15 people per tour.

In cooperation with urban.brussels