Practical Information

Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm

Price: Free admission

Guided visits on reservation (subject to the COVID-19 safety measures in force) :

• every Tuesday : 13.30 (FR), 15.00 (NL)
• every Thursday : 13.30 (NL), 15.00 (FR)
• on request for groups of 10 people

Mandatory reservation: 02 221 22 06 - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Address : Museum of the National Bank of Belgium, Rue Montagne aux Herbes Potagères/Warmoesberg 57, 1000 Brussels

Georges Houtstont and the ornamental craze of the Belle Epoque

From Monday 31 May to Friday 1 October

From Monday 31 May to Friday 1 October, urban.brussels and scenographer Sugiberry are transforming the museum's atrium into the studio of the ornamentalist Georges Houtstont (1832-1912). This French artist worked on the interior decoration of the museum building, which at the time housed the bank Union du Crédit de Bruxelles, as well as on the Governor's Mansion. If the name Houtstont is not yet engraved in our collective memory, it is not due to a lack of artistic talent, but rather to the fact that many of his decorative sculptures are unsigned. It is therefore high time to finally put this artist in the spotlight!

Houtstont, while born and bred in Paris, primarily made his mark on the architectural and urban history of Brussels. Arriving in Belgium in 1859, he decided never to leave again. His first works were highly remarkable and can be admired to this day: he worked on both the Congress Column and the Governor's Mansion. The latter commission gave him access to other prestigious projects in Brussels such as the Palace of Justice, the Anspach fountain, the Centre for Fine Arts, the Royal Palace, the Royal Conservatory, the Castle of Laeken, etc.

Collaborating with the architects involved, he always succeeded in perfectly integrating his decorative sculptures in the various façades and interiors of Brussels. The ornaments were created in his studio in Saint-Gilles, where he worked from 1867 onwards. This studio has now been recreated in our museum for the duration of the exhibition, which will give you a unique insight into the personal and professional life of Georges Houtstont, in a scenography combining items from the collections of various institutions with short videos.

Chateaux and Workers' Housing in Uccle

From 2 to 17 October 2021

With the patronage and support of Uccle Town Council, the Uccle and District History, Archaeology and Folklore Circle presents an exhibition at the Doyenné Arts Centre about the "chateaux" and housing for workers in Uccle in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries.

The exhibition will feature the "chateaux" (and large villas) built during the Belle Epoque period by the wealthy middle classes of Brussels, attracted by the area's leafy, semi-rural landscape, as well as housing built for the working classes from the mid-nineteenth century to the eve of the First World War. The result of all this building was the gradual suburbanisation of Uccle, which had been a rural village in 1850.

This exhibition's main objective is to promote the heritage interest of these two very different, even opposing, styles of building, which have both contributed to the history of Uccle, which is more complex, varied and rich than it might appear at first sight.

Image: ©Uccle and District History, Archaeology and Folklore Circle

Practical Information

Open: from Monday to Saturday from 12 noon to 6 pm and Sunday from 10 am to 4 pm.

Admission free

Guided tours can be arranged on request, for example on weekday mornings.

Bookings by email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Address: Doyenné – Maison des Arts, 102, rue du Doyenné, 1180 Uccle