Discover
The Museums
In the heart of this historical centre
The Erasmus House and the Beguinage are two of the oldest municipal museums in Belgium. With the collegiate church of Saint Peter and Saint Guidon, they form an exceptional historical complex. This ensemble reflects the glorious past of the commune of Anderlecht which experienced considerable development from the Middle Ages, due in part to the cult of Saint Guidon, the patron saint of cattle.
The Erasmus House
The Museum is located in one of the oldest Gothic houses in Brussels.
Erasmus stayed here from May to October 1521.
The exhibition evokes the life of the Humanist and the intellectual universe of his time, through a collection of artworks and precious books in rooms furnished with Gothic and Renaissance-style furniture.
The Beguinage
The Museum was set up in Belgium’s smallest beguinage, founded in 1252.
The beguinage, which became a hospice after the French Revolution, was turned into a museum in 1930. This museum was dismantled in 2021 for in-depth restoration of the building, work that has been completed in 2022.
For now the public will be able to discover on the first Sunday of each month the work done to restore the original appearance of this extraordinary, unique architectural heritage site in Europe.
A new museum project meeting the demands of a contemporary institution rooted in the present is now being developed.
The new museum will open in 2025.
The Gardens
A garden of simples presents a genuine botanical portrait of the Humanist.
Beyond this, lies a philosophical garden.
Festina lente
More haste, less speed
Erasmus, Adagium n°1001 (II, I, 1)
Visit the Erasmus House
The visitor will discover the familiar and studious universe of the great philologist and theologian.
