Belgian Comic Strip Center, Comics museum in Brussels, Belgium.
The Belgian Comic Strip Center occupies the former Magasins Waucquez, a natural-stone Art Nouveau department store Victor Horta designed in 1905 and completed in 1906. Its symmetrical, slightly concave facade has three arched upper windows and three large ground openings with wrought-iron grilles; a plaque reads "20". Inside, two storeys and a mezzanine sit under two glass domes, with cast-iron columns, marble mosaic floors and a monumental stone staircase. The museum's bookshop, Slumberland, has carved wooden shelving bays.
The original building was constructed in 1906 as a department store under architect Victor Horta's direction. The museum was established in 1989 within this restored structure as a cultural institution.
The center displays works by Belgian creators like Hergé, Franquin, Peyo, and Morris, who shaped the medium during their lifetimes. Visitors can see in the exhibition spaces how their creativity changed the face of comics.
The museum sits near Botanique and De Brouckère metro stations and opens daily to visitors. Plan at least two hours to explore the different exhibition areas at a comfortable pace.
The top-floor "Museum of Imagination" runs chronologically from Hergé to Peyo, covering 1929 to 1958, with a room per artist and special attention to the magazines Spirou and Tintin. Four of the exhibited artists are Flemish: Willy Vandersteen, Marc Sleen, Bob de Moor and Morris.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 93,398 contributors worldwide.
