La Fonderie, Brussels Museum of Industry and Labour
Museum of industrial history in Brussels, Belgium
50°51′10″N 4°20′8″E / 50.85278°N 4.33556°E / 50.85278; 4.33556
La Fonderie, Brussels Museum of Industry and Labour (French: La Fonderie, Musée bruxellois des industries et du travail; Dutch: La Fonderie, Brussels museum van de industrie en de arbeid) is a museum of industrial history in Brussels, Belgium. It collects objects, documents and oral history on the city's industrial past and visualises the working history of Brussels. It is managed as a nonprofit organisation focusing on analysing and exhibiting the economic and social history of the Brussels region. It publishes a magazine, organises guided tours and provides educational activities. La Fonderie also houses a documentation centre open to the public.[1]
The museum is located at 27, rue Ransfort/Ransfortstraat in Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, on the site of the former foundry of the Compagnie des Bronzes de Bruxelles (1854–1979), close to the Brussels–Charleroi Canal. This site is served by Comte de Flandre/Graaf van Vlaanderen metro station on line 5 of the Brussels Metro.
Exhibits
The museum presents four key industry sectors that have created or transformed products made in Brussels: the metal industry, woodworking, textile manufacturing and food processing. Each module includes two showcase machines that represent the technology and the companies that made and used them, as well as the working conditions. The exhibits are mainly from the museum's own collections, but also from those of partner institutions and private collectors. The permanent exhibition is, since 2001, in the 300 m2 (3,200 sq ft) lathe room of the former Compagnie des Bronzes. Temporary exhibitions are shown in the top floor of the museum and additional exhibits of various industry sectors are planned to be shown in coming years.
La Fonderie supplements the exhibitions of the major museums in Brussels. The bilingual French and Dutch exhibition addresses those interested in sociology and technology as well as local history. An English manual is available, which includes translations of the captions of the exhibits.[2]
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Interior view -
Asphalt machine -
Woodworking machine of Edouard Mennig -
Linotype machine -
Bottle filling machine -
Piano maker J. Oor -
Washing machine by Atelier Menko -
Adding machine by Burroughs -
Wiel's beer glasses
See also
Belgium portal
- List of museums in Brussels
- History of Brussels
- Culture of Belgium
- Belgium in the long nineteenth century
References
Citations
Bibliography
- Demanet, Marie; De Zuttere, Catherine (2023). The heart of Molenbeek. Brussels, City of Art and History. Vol. 61. Brussels: urban.brussels (Regional Public Service of Brussels, Urbanism and Heritage). ISBN 978-2-87584-205-3.
External links
Media related to La Fonderie, Brussels Museum of Industry and Labour at Wikimedia Commons- Museum website
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