Castle
Library and archives
The library and archives of Gaasbeek Castle are available for use by the public.
Library
The original castle library was largely given away in 1893 by Marquise Arconati Visconti. From the sixties, a new library was built up around the small core of remaining books, which presently holds more than 5,000 volumes and periodicals. History and art history are the main subjects, but special attention is also paid to the history of Gaasbeek manor and to various aspects of the life of nobility. It serves as a tool to study the castle, its residents, the collection and the region.
Archives
The castle archives consist of three large funds: historic archives of the lords of Gaasbeek (seventeenth and eighteenth centuries), documents of the Arconati Visconti family (mainly nineteenth century) and modern museum archives. The oldest of the 3,000 documents in the archives is a deed from 1297. Top pieces include the archives of Rubens (the marriage contract of the painter and his last will). The archives contain important information about the history of the development of the domain, the building, its residents and the collection. It covers about 80 linear metres.
Practical information
The archives and library are open from 9 a.m. to 4.45 p.m. on weekdays, only by appointment. For more information or to make an appointment, please contact: T. 00 32 (0)2 531 01 39 or boudewijn.goossens(a)cjsm.vlaanderen.be
Background picture © Luc Van Muylem - www.vanmuylem.com
