The Royal Military Museum Brussels is celebrating its centenary this weekend, with activities for both children and adults in addition to reduced admission fees, prolonged opening hours and full access to all the galleries.
Although the War Heritage Institute is celebrating its 100th anniversary, it was over a century ago that a young Belgian officer by the name of Louis Leconte assembled Belgian military paraphernalia into a collection for the 1910 World Fair.
The exhibition attracted much attention, so the collection was maintained even after the end of the fair, and housed in the former Military Academy buildings at La Cambre Abbey. This was an early version of the Belgian Military Museum.
The collection grew significantly after the First World War, and so in 1923 it was moved to the north wing of the Jubilee Palaces, where over time it became the Royal Military Museum that Brussels knows today.
After the Second World War, the institute expanded and became a traditional museum, including archives, a library, a print room and a map room to allow for the study of conservation and restoration.
By 1996, all the military forces were represented in its collection, and today, the Royal Military Museum includes five extensive exhibition galleries.
Tickets for the centenary weekend can be purchased online and include a full tour of the museum and access to all the anniversary activities.
