About the museum

Welcome to the Museum Hof van Busleyden! Step into this majestic and magnificent Renaissance palace in Mechelen, the capital of the Burgundian Netherlands. Follow in the footsteps of Hiëronymus van Busleyden, Margaret of Austria, Erasmus and Thomas More. Exchange ideas and reflect on our changing world, much like they did.

The opening up of the New World in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries ushered in a new era, called the Renaissance, in which man was considered the centre of the universe. An era in which everything changed. Today this house has once again become a meeting place, a place for conversations, where new ideas are born and art is collected and displayed.

Find out more about the surprising Burgundian history as you venture deeper into the Hof van Busleyden, discovering its treasures and stories. Learn more about the Burgundians’ ideas, about the city, about power and about mastership and craftsmanship. Move from lively and bustling rooms to more private and quieter places. Go in search of the real Margaret and peek into the intriguing and fragile Enclosed Gardens.

In this museum we look back at the city’s glorious history and look ahead to the future, together with you. Travel back and forth, between the past and present. Experiment and engage in a dialogue with the museum and its ever-changing collection.

The story is far from finished.