KBR Museum

KBR Museum is a manuscript museum operated by the Royal Library of Belgium (KBR) in the heart of Brussels. It occupies the historic Nassau Chapel, a sixteenth-century space built into the library complex on Mont des Arts, right next to several of the city's other major cultural institutions.

Where does the collection come from?

The heart of the museum's holdings goes back to the Dukes of Burgundy, who ruled Brussels roughly six centuries ago and assembled one of the most significant book collections in Europe at the time: the Library of the Dukes of Burgundy. At its peak, under Charles the Bold, it held close to a thousand manuscripts. Around four hundred of these have survived to the present day, and about two hundred and seventy-five of them are now kept at KBR, with the remainder scattered across other European institutions.

What is on display?

The core of the exhibition is a collection of medieval illuminated manuscripts — hand-decorated books from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries produced with the involvement of some of the era's most celebrated artists, including Rogier van der Weyden, Simon Marmion and Simon Bening. The visit walks guests through how such a book was actually made: preparing the parchment, the scribe's work copying the text, and finally the illuminator adding pigments and gold leaf. A dedicated section is given over to fifteenth-century Bibles and Books of Hours, richly decorated prayer books that are shown on a rotating basis because the pigments and parchment are sensitive to light exposure.

The tour begins inside the Nassau Chapel itself, the historic heart of the former palace complex, where some of the finest pieces once gathered by the Burgundian dukes are on view. The presentation is deliberately modern, relying on interactive displays and multimedia elements that make the historical material approachable even for visitors with no prior background in manuscript studies or the history of the book arts.

What role does music play in the visit?

A distinctive part of the experience is sound: throughout the museum, visitors can hear polyphonic music from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the kind that would have accompanied court life under the Burgundian dukes. This musical layer is meant to recreate the atmosphere in which the manuscripts on display were originally created, linking the visual art of illumination with the musical tradition of the same period.

Who is this museum for?

KBR Museum will appeal most to visitors with an interest in art history, medieval craftsmanship, and the history of Burgundy and the old Low Countries. Because of its focused, single-theme approach and relatively compact size, a visit typically takes less time than a trip to one of Brussels' larger general museums, making it an easy addition to a walk around the Mont des Arts area.

Frequently asked questions

How is KBR Museum different from the Royal Library itself? KBR Museum is a dedicated section of the Royal Library of Belgium complex, set up to showcase the library's most valuable manuscripts to the general public, and it can be visited as a standalone attraction separate from the library's research and academic functions.

Do the exhibits change over time? Yes. Because parchment and pigments are sensitive to light, some of the most valuable manuscripts, including the Books of Hours, are shown in rotation rather than permanently displayed.

Where exactly is the museum located? Inside the historic sixteenth-century Nassau Chapel, part of the Royal Library complex on Mont des Arts in the center of Brussels.