At the beginning of this month, two newly renovated exhibition halls opened at the Army Museum in Brussels. The halls are being used to house the museum’s collection of exhibits from and about the First World War. The Museum is located in the Jubel Park, near to the Merode metro station. The reopening of the two exhibition halls is part of the museum's renovation strategy that involves the gradual refurbishment of all its exhibition space. In addition to the renovation work, several unique additional exhibits have been added to the museum’s Great War exhibition.
Renovated First World War exhibition halls have opened at the Army Museum in Brussels
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The renovated display cases replace the old display cases that date from the 1930s. Although these had a certain charm, they didn’t always offer the space needed to exhibit some of the item’s objects from the museum's unique collection. In addition to this the old display cabinets didn’t provide optimal storage conditions (i.e. optimal protection from sunlight, humidity and temperature fluctuations).
The renovation has brought the display cases up to contemporary museum standards. On display in the newly renovated exhibition halls are items from Italy, the ANZAC Regiment (Australian and New Zealand troops as well as soldiers from Tonga), British India, Czech and Polish units, Japan, Siam (now Thailand), and Central and Eastern European countries including Russia, Serbia, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire.
In addition to the renovated display cases, with four extraordinary cannons, two of which are unique in the world, are now on display. They include a huge French 220 mm Howitzer, a Japanese naval gun, a cannon from the fortifications that were part of the defensive belt around Antwerp and a unique spring-fired cannon.
The spring-fired canon was used to combat enemy aircraft and airships and is considered to be one of the first anti-aircraft defence systems.
The Army Museum in Brussels first opened to the public in 1923. It is located in the northern part of the museum complex in Jubel Park, in the east of Brussels City Centre.
It is well served by public transport with the Merode metro and mainline railway station being very close by. Several bus and tram stops are also within easy walking distance. Click here for more information about the museums and its exhibits.