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Royal Library of Belgium

1837 establishments in BelgiumAcademic libraries in BelgiumBuildings and structures in BrusselsGovernment buildings in BelgiumLibraries established in 1837
Libraries in BelgiumNational librariesRoyal Library of Belgium
Albertine 01
Albertine 01

The Royal Library of Belgium (French: Bibliothèque royale de Belgique, Dutch: Koninklijke Bibliotheek van België, abbreviated KBR and sometimes nicknamed Albertine in French or Albertina in Dutch) is the national library of Belgium. The library has a history that goes back to the age of the Dukes of Burgundy. In the second half of the 20th century, a new building was constructed on the Mont des Arts in central Brussels, near the Central Station. The library owns several collections of historical importance, like the famous Fétis archives, and is the depository for all books ever published in Belgium or abroad by Belgian authors. There are four million bound volumes in the Royal Library, including a rare book collection numbering 45,000 works. The library has more than 700,000 engravings and drawings, 150,000 maps and plans, and more than 250,000 objects, from coins to scales to monetary weights. This coin collection holds one of the most valuable coins in the field of numismatics, a fifth-century Sicilian tetradrachm. The library also houses the Center for American Studies, a rich American Studies collection of 30,000 books in open stacks, as well as U.S. newspapers and databases.The Royal Library is open for reference only. Patrons must be at least eighteen years of age and must pay an annual membership fee.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Royal Library of Belgium (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Royal Library of Belgium
Boulevard Pachéco - Pachecolaan, City of Brussels Pentagon (Brussels)

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N 50.844444444444 ° E 4.3563888888889 °
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Jonction Nord-Midi - Noord-Zuidverbinding

Boulevard Pachéco - Pachecolaan
1000 City of Brussels, Pentagon (Brussels)
Belgium
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Bortier Gallery
Bortier Gallery

The Bortier Gallery (French: Galerie Bortier, Dutch: Bortiergalerij) is a shopping arcade designed by Jean-Pierre Cluysenaer. It was constructed in 1847 and opened in the following year. It is situated in the centre of the City of Brussels between the Mont des Arts/Kunstberg and the Grand Place/Grote Markt, not far from the more monumental Royal Saint-Hubert Galleries. Proprietor is the City of Brussels and it is managed by its Land Administration services. The gallery is built in a Neo-Renaissance style and is a fine example of the joint use of cast iron and glass. Originally, the mall was a part of the Marché de la Madeleine/Magdalenamarkt complex, a covered market also designed by Cluysenaer. The facade on the rue de la Madeleine in a Flemish baroque style antedates the construction of the mall behind it. This front dates from 1763 and was recuperated from the Hôtel des Grandes Messageries a town house situated at that site. The gallery owes its name to an investor named Pierre Bortier, who had acquired land between the Rue Duquesnoy and the Rue Saint-Jean/Sint-Jansstraat, made available by the demolition of the former Hôpital Saint-Jean/Sint-Janshospitaal. He proposed to the city of Brussels to build the Marché de la Madeleine/Magdalenamarkt. This covered market had its main entrance at the Rue Duquesnoy. Starting from the Hôtel des Grandes Messageries, located at the Rue de la Madeleine the gallery passed along the rounded southern end of the market hall on the level of its first floor, and ended in the Rue Saint-Jean/Sint-Jansstraat. The Madeleine market was demolished in 1957 and replaced by a modern event hall, leaving only the original facade in place. The Bortier Gallery was thus detached from the market building. Very degraded, it was renovated in 1974 and again around 2010. The place is now well known to lovers of literature and old books, being almost entirely occupied, with the exception of an art gallery, with stalls and second-hand booksellers. Jean-Baptiste Moens, known as the father of philately ran a shop in the Bortier Gallery from 1853 onwards.