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Making over the Plantin pre-metro station

In recent months, one platform of the Plantin metro station has been given a makeover. The design agency Enthoven took inspiration from the Print Cabinet of the Museum.

Organisation

The family Plantin and Moretus kept things going for nine generations with great expertise. Just like the Museum staff today. They look after the house and its collection with pride. Get to know them and take a look behind the scenes.

Unesco

There is just one museum on the UNESCO list. The Museum Plantin-Moretus. That is thanks to its combination of prestigious patrician mansion, centuries-old workshop and – for more than 125 years – outstanding museum. Plus a virtually intact business archive dating back to 1555.

Historic Houses Platform

The Museum Plantin-Moretus is part of the Historic Houses Flanders platform. This is a group of important houses that are open to the public. It focuses on conservation, management, policy and cooperation.

Become a Sponsor

Sponsor the Museum Plantin-Moretus, a unique piece of world heritage. Become our corporate Partner. And help preserve the Museum for the future.

A building's 400-year history

Christophe Plantin’s house and workshop have been transformed several times in the course of more than 400 years. Find out here how the Officina Plantiniana metamorphosed into the Museum Plantin-Moretus.

The printing works

The printing works is the heart of the Plantin mansion. It contains the two oldest printing presses in the world, dating from around 1600. The six other presses are still in working order. Discover the workflow of a 16th-century printing works here.

The Great Library

The Great Library is arranged like a well-stocked private library of the 17th century. It was founded by Christophe Plantin and expanded by Balthasar I and his successors. The curators of the Museum Plantin-Moretus have expanded the collection of Officina Plantiniana editions.

The garden

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. In the garden you can see and smell popular plants from the 16th and 17th centuries.

Who was Christophe Plantin?

Christophe Plantin was an intellectual with a nose for business. Shortly before 1550 he moved from France to Antwerp. Five years later, he started his own printing works. He developed his printing office into the world’s largest such business.

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