Hof van Busleyden, Renaissance private mansion in Mechelen, Belgium.
The Hof van Busleyden is a city palace in Mechelen that blends Gothic and Italian Renaissance design across several wings and three floors. The interior contains many rooms with elements from different periods that reflect how the house changed over time.
Hieronymus van Busleyden, a canon of St. Rumbold's and councillor of the Great Council, had the residence built from 1503, with Rombout II Keldermans named as architect and the house habitable by 1507. His heirs sold it in 1518 to Jacqueline de Boulogne. In 1619 Wenceslas Cobergher bought it and opened the Mechelen Berg van Barmhartigheid there in 1620; since 1938 it has housed the museum.
Hieronymus van Busleyden, a humanist and counsellor of the Great Council, had his dining room fitted out as a Roman triclinium, with a large and a smaller square table and three benches. Thomas More stayed in the house in summer 1515 and praised its antique coins, stained glass and old books. The museum now holds collections on Mechelen's history and Northern Renaissance art.
The museum is open several days per week and offers wheelchair access and support for visitors with hearing or sight difficulties. It is easy to reach and has well-maintained areas for a comfortable visit.
Thomas More stayed here in summer 1515 while negotiating the wool trade and praised Busleyden's collection of antique coins, stained glass and old books and parchments in a letter to Erasmus; some writers suggest he worked on Utopia during that stay.
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