Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History
[3] In 1875, the architect Gédéon Bordiau made a proposal to build on this site, part of the so-called "Linthout" plains, the former military exercise ground of the Garde Civique outside of Brussels' city centre.Work resumed the following year under the direction of the French architect Charles Girault and was completed with a new patron, King Leopold II.[3] Five years later, at the Brussels International Exposition of 1910, a section on military history was presented to the public on the same premises, and was met with great success.Given the population's enthusiasm, the authorities decided to create a military museum within the international context of extreme tension that led to the Great War.It is established in the curved galleries of the northern portion of the hemicycle, as well as in the metallic halls located to the west and south of the interior garden.After 1945, the museum appropriated the entire pavilion; a section dedicated to Leopold III and World War II is set up there, inaugurated on 10 May 1955 by King Baudouin.The medieval collection presents an overview of the period's offensive and defensive armament, and consists of an extensive display of weapons, shields, and banners, from the simple coat of mail to the full armour.In one of the open-air courtyards, several ships of the Belgian Navy are exhibited, among them a P903 Meuse patrol boat, as well as the yacht used by King Baudouin and Queen Fabiola.
View of the North Hall, housing the Military Museum