Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History ,Brussels!!!

Posted in Europe, France

And another dandy in a wonderful area of Brussels, the parc Cinquantenaire we love to walk to. And voilà we find out about two wonderful museums  Autoworld (see post) and this Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History!!! I like to update the post for you and me, and great memories with the family. Oh yes I know about this part of my university studies (see post).  Hope you enjoy it as I!

Another trip to one of my favorite cities in Europe. This is Brussels at its best and we love the museums especially those dealing with history. Brussels has a beauty that should be seen by all history buffs.  I was there with the family and they love it, especially my boys!  The Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History or the Musée Royal de l’Armée et d’Histoire Militaire,is a military museum that occupies the two northernmost halls of the historic complex in Cinquantenaire park. And it is wonderful, highly recommended for the history and military buffs.

bru-museum-royal-armed-forces-dec12

We actually got there on the tram 25 stop at Montgomery and came into it from outside into the park on a glorious walk in town which we love to do once in a city. We got to Brussels by car from France on the N2 and in Belgium on the N6 coming in the RO or rocade(beltway) road to our hotel (see post) and then on foot all over, great I am telling you!

The museum has a peculiar time schedule that it closes at noon, and speaks out on public announcement that you can stay in the Aviation hall or the restaurant (very convenient). We didn’t want it cafeteria style food in the resto,and don’t like to wait an hour doing nothing. So decided to come out, boy that took some times, there are no signs to let you out and all door into the museum were closed!!! When we finally asked at the resto they told us there is an exit hallway by the WC lol!! this is the rest room! Never would figure in my life the exit door was by going thru a bathroom /rest room first, but here it is. Oh well we got out,and lesson learned not to get caught at lunch time here. The rest was nice historical ,wonderful ,full of great airplanes, tanks, military heavy equipment, uniforms, and swords, rifles etc from the Napoleonics times to the present. There are presentation of historical events with the equipment use all the time.

The idea came in the Brussels exhibition of 1910 when a section on military history was presented to the public and met with great success. The museum was originally installed on the site of the Abbaye de la Cambre and moved to the Cinquantenaire Park in 1923. The park is set on the continuation of the Rue de la Loi which starts at the end of the  Brussels Park before the Royal Palace .(see posts).

All is house by the parc du cinquentanaire, monumental building, first pushed by King Leopold II idea of bringing Belgium to the forefront of nations. For the 1910 World Exhibition, Louis Leconte collected about nine hundred objects and called his compilation Musée de l’Armée / Museum van het Leger (Museum of the Army). These objects were to give the visitor an idea of the history of Belgian armed forces in the 19C. The exhibition was a big success.

bru-mus-royal-armed-forces-aviation-hall-dec12

After WWI, things moved very quickly. The collection grew considerably because of numerous contributions by private persons and through the support of several foreign governments. After 1919, the building bulged with so many items that new housing was necessary. A new home for these items was found in the northern wing of the Jubilee site. On June 28, 1923, King Albert I officially opened the Military Museum. Louis Leconte had been dismissed from active military service and was appointed head curator. During World War II, the occupying forces closed the Museum down. After the war, the collections once again opened to the public. Where it continue today to marvel the world of its wonderful displays.

You have theme spaces coming from main entrance,going thru a Dutch gallery, then the Belgian war of 1830, a technical area of weaponry and armaments, medieval, Napoleonic era, 1914-1918 WWI era, the Russian gallery , the Tanks (many American tanks here) display in a patio open area in the middle of the building, you have a huge Aviation dept with planes from many countries including Mig soviet era, Navy gallery area, upper level hall Bordieu with light machine guns,a contemporary European conflicts gallery and Belgium during occupation.

bru-mus-royal-armed-forces-belgian-marines-dec12

bru-mus-royal-armed-forces-t47-patton-ii-dec12

in addition, the museum offers a trace of most if not all airplanes lost over Belgium in WWII. Today this record includes 4281 losses from Air Forces of the following nations: Belgium 98, France 100, Britain and Commonwealth 1515, United States 732, Italy 17 and Germany 1819. Research is conducted on over 1000 aircraft losses for which detailed information is still missing.

bru-mus-royal-armed-forces-dc3-dakota-dec12

bru-mus-royal-armed-forces-n-a-t6-dec12

bru-mus-royal-armed-forces-c119-volcan-dec12

There is a museum boutique shop open every day exept Mondays 9h to 12h and then 13h to 16h45. The Skycafé resto is open from Tuesday through Sunday between 10h30 to 16h20 ,kitchen is open Kitchen 11h30 to 14h ADMISSION IS FREE Closed On Mondays, January 1, May 1, November 1, December 25, and election days . The north wing, has been occupied by the aviation hall since 1972 when the Air and Space gallery was inaugurated.  The collection includes various types of aircraft, both military and civilian, some dating back to the early 20C.

Some webpages to help you plan your trip here are:

The official Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History: https://www.klm-mra.be/D7t/

The Brussels tourist office on the Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History: https://visit.brussels/en/place/Royal-Military-Museum-War-Heritage-Institute

The museums of Brussels webpage on the Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History: https://www.brusselsmuseums.be/en/museums/war-heritage-institute-royal-museum-of-the-armed-forces-and-of-military-history

Hope you enjoy it, it is history of all phases of our events over the years. Very well set up , and good welcome. For me is going back to my old dreams and still in touch with the world of aviation, the Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History is a must in Brussels!

And remember , happy travels, good health ,and many cheers to all!!!

Published by pedmar10

I am a lover of travels to Europe , Americas , Africa and Asia as well ,who like to share my experiences of the last 53 years with the world, visiting so far 81 countries; living in 6, working in 5, and Citizen of 4, speaking fluently 4 languages. I can deal with sports especially football/soccer and love music, arts, wine collector/drinker, and go out to restaurants, and just visit the world. My background comes all the way from Candelaria and Pajara in Tenerife, Spain where my grandparents came from ;not knowing each other then, to Punta Brava, west of Havana, Cuba. There , my parents born in Cuba met and later on I was born there too. 100% guanche (annexed Tenerife to Spain on April 10 ,1496). I left Cuba as many have to Madrid, Spain where I lived for 4 years. Then, move to Perth Amboy ,New Jersey USA (living there 13 yrs) ; where I completed high school, became a US Citizen, learned to drive a car, and learned English. Afterward, went to the university in Florida, ERAU, and upon graduation decided to moved there to Ormond by the Sea, near Daytona Beach, finally moving North Miami, then Hialeah, then another moved to Silver Lakes division in Miramar, Broward county, Florida; in Florida I lived a total of 18 years. Finally , moved to France in 2003 ,Versailles call me for its royalty, and working in Paris was great. It was time to seek frontiers again and moved to Brech near Auray, Morbihan in Brittany , and later move to not too far Pluvigner. Total so far in France has been 20 years, and counting. Moving average a home every 5.5 years hopefully this will be my last. Cheers All rights reserved. No part of this blog may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means or stored in a retrieval system of any nature, without the written permission of the copyright holder, me. No part of this work may be modified, without the written permission of the holder, me.No part of this work may be exposed to public view in any form or by any means, without identifying the holder as the author, and with the before mentioned permission.

2 thoughts on “Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History ,Brussels!!!”

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.