Museum of illuminated manuscripts to open in Royal Library

The Royal Library of Belgium in Brussels has announced plans to create a new on-site museum. The Library of the Dukes of Burgundy will hold 300 rare illuminated manuscripts from the Burgundian period.

Through multimedia displays, visitors will be immersed in the history of medieval Europe. The library is scheduled to open in 2019.

Funding for the project is being provided by the library, Visit Flanders and the Office of Public Buildings. The Leuven-based Artois-Baillet Latour Foundation is financing the restoration of the valuable manuscripts.

The partners intend for the new museum to be one of the top 10 attractions in Brussels, with 100,000 visitors a year. In addition to the museum, the Royal Library will also have a new restaurant on the fifth floor, with a view over the city centre, as well as a new reception area and glassed-in terrace facing the garden on Kunstberg.

Image: Illustration by Rogier van der Weyden from the illuminated manuscript Chroniques de Hainaut ©Royal Library of Belgium