Cinquantenaire & museums, Brussels

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The Military Museum is part of a monumental complex called "Le Cinquantenaire".
This was a green area "Jubilee Park" where exhibition halls were built to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Belgian Kingdom in 1880.
For the 1910 World Exhibition a large number of military objects were collected here to give the visitor an idea of the history of Belgian armed forces in the 19th century. This was the start for the Musée de l'Armée / Museum van het Leger (Museum of the Army).
After World War I the collection grew considerably as well as after WW II; the little Belgium being each time in the "eye of the cyclone".
In 1972 an Air and Space Department was inaugurated and in 1980 an Armoured Vehicles Department was formed. In 1986, an important ancient (medieval) Arms and Armour collection was transported from the Porte de Hal / Hallepoort to the Museum.

Presently the Museum of the Army is still renovating and expanding. From my visits to military museums in Europe I can say that it is one of the most important museums for the period of the 19th and 20th centuries. I observed on my last visits that it attracts more and more foreigners. They are now nearly half of the more than 250.000 visitors per year

Admission Free
Open from Tuesday until Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 1:00 p.m. to 4:45 p.m.
Closed on Mondays, January 1, May 1, November 1, December 25, and election days

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The Brussels museum is number one on planes of WW I.
The oldest model is a Belgian triplan Bataille from 1911.
A replica of a Voisin-Farman biplane is now (spring 2008) under construction. This plane, with baron Pierre de Caters as pilot, was the first to fly in the Belgian skies in 1908.
Most planes from WW I are French starting with a Farman MF 11 (1914). This was a bomber carrying 18 small bombs of 7 kg thrown by hand.
Better known are the fighter planes Nieuport called "Baby" because the total wing surface was only 13 sq.m. and the Spad of 18 sq.m. build for speed (max. 234 km/h) and diving ability. These planes were flown by the "aces" fighter pilots Guynemer, Fonck, and Nungesser.
There is also a Caudron G3 and a very rare seaplane Schreck FBA type H of 1915.
From British production one can see a Sopwith Camel and a rare exemplar of a Sopwith 1 1/2 Strutter. It was the first allied fighter aircraft to be equipped with a synchronised machine gun, mounted above the engine and designed to fire between the propeller blades. Also on display are a Bristol Fighter F2B and a Royal Aircraft Factory RE8.
On the German side the museum shows a Halberstadt C.V which is the only exemplar still in existence.

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One of the major departments of the army museum is the Aviation department hosted in a very large gallery (nearly 200 m long, 40 m high) dating from the national exhibition of 1880.
The air museum started in 1972 with some thirty aircraft but, thanks to a large-scaled international exchange campaign and the reputation of having skilful restoration teams made from volunteers and members of the Belgian Air Force, it displays now 130 aeroplanes.
What surprises is the diversity of the machines and countries. NATO countries of course but also Sweden and the former Soviet Union.
Another surprise is that these planes are stored above each other with on top a large civilian jet "Caravelle" which was used by many companies in Europe in the sixties and seventies.
The collection of planes from the First and Second World Wars or the interwar and post-war periods is exceptional. Some of them, including the Nieuport 23, the Schreck seaplane and two German observation planes from the First World War are very rare and exceptional.
I will detail them by periods in my further tips.
I heard that this part of the army museum is going to be renovated and will be closed. When is not yet clear. This spring (2008) another four historical planes are added to the collection.
Admission Free.
Open from Tuesday until Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 1:00 p.m. to 4:45 p.m.
Closed on Mondays, January 1, May 1, November 1, December 25, and election days
Photos are allowed.
There is no heating in this gallery; in winter it is better to keep your coat on.

I practically lived next to this park, so I went jogging there a lot. It's not massive, so you can run around it in 10-15min if you are an average jogger. It's nicer than running on the street though. Unfortunately, it was mostly too cold for picnics when I was in Brussels, but I'm sure it's nice for that too.

Nowadays, the park also houses Belgium's largest Mosque (originally a conference center for the 1897 Brussels World Fair). In addition, there is Royal Museum of the Army and Military History in the middle of it, as the park used to be training ground for the army. Unfortunately, everything the museum is only in French and Flemish, but they have some amazing stuff like coat of armors for soldiers, horses and for a small child. There are 2 other museums in the park, including Autoworld, which houses a display of 500 historic cars including the early motorized tricycles, a Model T Ford, a 1924 Renault, a 1938 Cadillac that was the official White House car for FDR and Truman, a 1956 Cadillac used by Eisenhower and then by Kennedy in the 60s) and Musée du Cinquantenaire has a collection of antiques and decorative arts such as tapestries, lace, porcelain, silver, furniture, toys, stained glass, jewels, folklore, sculptures and old vehicles, including 18th-century coupes, sedan chairs, sleighs and royal coaches.

The park, museums and monuments were initially designed to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Belgium's independence in 1830. However, the buildings were not finished until 1905. The extensive gardens have at their heart a triumphal arch topped by a bronze four-horse chariot sculpture, representing Brabant Raising the National Flag.

There is a grim story involved in the Park. It was built using the profits from the Congo Free State (now the Democratic Republic of Congo), a personal domain of the horrid King Leopold II. During his rule of Congo, the native population endured forced labor, enslavement and mutilation. The death toll amongst the population was around 10 million.

The army bit with various uniforms, weapons and some vehicles is interesting if you are into history and or pure army details. To me, the planes are what I come to the Army Museum for and they come in all types and sizes. My favourite is a Canadian freight plane which just looks nice and sturdy and very unusual to me over in Europe. You can also expect a Caravelle in the ceiling and a V2 rocket amongst other fascinating things for all ages. Next to it is Autoworld with a huge selection of, you guessed it, cars throughout history.

Go to Parc Cinquantennaire and visit the museums if the weather is bad. Here there is something for everyone. The impressive history museum has copies of the Easter Island rocks, things about life in the ancient cultures, China and everything else you would expect from such a museum and whilst not the most exciting displays it will keep you fascinated. Opposite is the Army museum and Autoworld (see tip below). This photo shows the museum area during a celebration with the royal family 1997.

Boys will always be boys and I think that's why I loved this museum. The Royal Museum of the Army and Military History has collections of armors, weapons, tanks and planes and the collection spans from the middle ages to F16 jet.

You will probably be spending time at the Cinquantenaire park anyway so pay a visit to the museum since admission is free!

They are open 9am till 5pm (12pm - 1pm lunch hour closed) Tuesday-Sunday.

I used to play with Matchbox cars when I was a little boy so when I read there's an antique car museum in Brussels I went immediately.

It didn't disappoint. The museum is 'medium-sized' you can probably finish it in 40 minutes and if you, well like cars, you will have a good time.

The museum is open daily from 10am to 5pm; till 6pm in the summer months.

Ticket costs Eur 6 for adults