Old plants
The current garden was created in 1992 to a late 16th-/early 17th-century model. It was designed by specialist Walter De Backer. Plantin would have been familiar with these plants. Until around 1577, he owned a private garden in Berchem and was close friends with the greatest botanists of his day: Rembert Dodoens, Carolus Clusius and Mathias Lobelius.
1639: in this year, the courtyard looked more or less the same as the one we admire today. It was created for Balthasar I Moretus. Unlike his friend Rubens, who had extended his mansion in baroque style on the Wapper shortly before, Balthasar ensured his conversion work matched the oldest parts of the building. He wanted a harmonious whole in classic Flemish Renaissance style. Together with the attractive building, the courtyard had already turned his home into a tourist attraction in Plantin’s own time. Kings, princes and prominent figures came to visit it.
The garden’s creation was due to Balthasar I Moretus. The typical Renaissance style is recognisable in all the façades: horizontal lines and cruciform windows, brick alternating with strips of sandstone plus arcades, also called galleries.
