Museum Hof van Busleyden

Museum Hof van Busleyden occupies a former city palace in Mechelen, Belgium, on today's Frederik de Merodestraat. Built at the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries, the building is one of the best-preserved examples of aristocratic city architecture from that period in the Low Countries.

Where does the name come from and what is the building's history?

The museum takes its name from François van Busleyden, who purchased a residence on the former Koestraat in 1496. Over the following centuries the building served very different purposes — at times a stately private residence with extensive gardens, at others an almshouse for the poor. The museum in its current form officially opened on 31 July 1938, with King Leopold III attending the opening ceremony alongside the Hanswijk Cavalcade and Ommegang procession in Mechelen.

What does the museum's collection contain?

The Hof van Busleyden collection has grown organically over the centuries and today comprises roughly 24,000 objects, most of which are held at the Depo Rato heritage warehouse, with a selection on permanent display. The core of the collection consists of works from the Burgundian period and the early Habsburg era.

Among the most significant groups of objects are an extensive collection of Mechelen alabaster and polychrome wood carvings — Mechelen was one of the region's leading centres of religious sculpture at the time. The museum also holds early printed works by Rembert Dodoens and Abraham Ortelius, as well as emblems from the city's rederijkerskamers, the rhetorical chambers that were literary and theatrical associations typical of the Low Countries.

Gilt leather occupies a special place in the collection, since Mechelen was the principal centre of gilt leather production in the Low Countries, giving the museum's holdings particular historical importance for the study of this craft.

Which artworks are worth seeing?

Among the Burgundian masterpieces in the collection is the series of Enclosed Gardens, devotional compositions combining sculpture, textile and relics. The museum also holds a tapestry depicting the Battle of Tunis by Jan Cornelisz Vermeyen, and the Mechelen Choirbook, one of the region's most important surviving sources of early music.

The painting collection includes works by Michiel Coxcie, Pieter Coecke van Aelst, Hans Bol and Jan van Battel — artists connected to Mechelen and the wider region during its heyday as an administrative and artistic centre of the Habsburg Low Countries.

Frequently asked questions

What is Hof van Busleyden? It is a city museum in Mechelen, housed in a historic palace dating from the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries, presenting the history and art of the city and region during the Burgundian and Habsburg periods.

How many objects does the collection hold? Around 24,000 objects, though only part of the collection is on permanent display — the rest is kept at the Depo Rato heritage warehouse.

What is the most valuable item on display? Among the best-known pieces are the series of Enclosed Gardens, the Battle of Tunis tapestry, and the Mechelen Choirbook, alongside the collections of Mechelen alabaster and gilt leather.

When did the museum open? It officially opened on 31 July 1938, with King Leopold III in attendance.