Royal African Museum

The Tervuren Museum, with its unique collections, is a centre of knowledge about Africa, especially Central Africa. It also presents the memory of Belgium's inglorious colonial past. The origins of the museum date back to the international exhibition in Brussels in 1897. King Leopold II treated them as a propaganda tool for his colonial project. As the African Palace's space became too small to accommodate the vast array of exhibits, construction began on a new location. On April 30, 1910, the new King of Belgium, Albert I, inaugurated the museum in a building designed by Charles Girault.  

After years of existence, the museum, criticized for its colonial propaganda, was called upon to clearly present the violence and exploitation perpetrated by King Leopold II in his private colony of Congo. African artists were invited to work on the museum's redesign. The museum reopened on December 8, 2018. The total exhibition area increased from 6,000 to 11,000  m². The museum has become a place of remembrance of the colonial past, a world centre for research on the past and present societies and natural environments of Africa, and Central Africa in particular. 

The collection of the Royal African Museum is impressive: 
10,000,000 zoological specimens
6,000,000 insects
1,000,000 fish
200,000 rock samples
170,000 photos of Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo from the 19th and 20th centuries 
17,000 minerals
8,000 musical instruments

Adres:
Leuvensesteenweg 13
3080 Tervuren 

Opening hours:
Tuesday-Friday: 10:00-17:00
Saturday-Sunday: 10.00-18.00

Fare:
Adults: 12 Euros
Children under 18: free