Royal Library of Belgium (Brussels, 17-8-2006)

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Other

If you want a carefree trip into Belgian (bureaucratic) surrealism I would recommend a visit to this library. The building is a 70's monster with the disgusting brownish grey carpet you see in many older museums here too. And it's a labyrinth as well with many weird and forgotten corners. Getting lost will be no problem here!

We know there are two exhibits about Bruegel here and even the information about those online and in folders varies...
Finding the tickets is fairly easy after asking where to get them. But once you have them you still have to put your bag in the cloakroom which is of course back down the stairs.
Luckily the other exhibit is also downstairs somewhere so we follow the signs there to see that one (Bruegel Imagined) first. On our way there we get to see something of the history of book-printing scattered in the halls and stairways leading to the room.

The first exhibit is an imaginary museum with very good quality true to size reproductions of Bruegel paintings. His works are very impressive indeed! Even though I've already seen a few in museums there are still some un-known treasures to be seen for real some day.

Going back upstairs for the other exhibit (Bruegel prints) we come across another free exhibit in a big room with an unclear function (and a corridor towards toilets). In this room is also a window behind which there is a true size reproduction of some Belgian writer's writing room. Nice but pretty weird...

The exhibit with the Bruegel prints is in the only old part of the library: the Nassau-chapel (see pic, outside window) which is quite small but a perfect setting for these prints.
All these prints and even some of the sketches for them belong to the library.
I'm sure this library has a truly impressive collection according to the books and cards they sell. One day I must certainly get a library card here (20 euro's according to the site) to gain entrance to the medieval manuscripts (and yes I am drooling).

The exhibits will end the 26th of august but I'm sure there will be new ones soon! Check the site: http://www.kbr.be