Museum Plantin-Moretus

About the museum

In 1576 the printer Christoffel Plantijn moved his printing business to a house on the Vrijdagmarkt in Antwerp, De Gulden Passer. His family lived and worked there for some three hundred years. The heirs, the Moretus family, extended the house step by step into a stately patrician residence.

In 1876 Edward Moretus, the last owner, sold the house and the business to the city of Antwerp. The city turned it into a museum. The 16th-century printing workshop has remained almost completely intact: more than fifty people once worked there, printing around 1,250 sheets a day together.

The museum shows the living quarters with gold leaf and works by Rubens on the walls, the large library, built up over nearly five centuries of book collecting and still used by researchers, the printing workshop itself and a quiet inner garden. In 2001 the company and family archive was added to UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register. In 2005 the museum became the first museum on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

Highlights

• The two oldest printing presses
• The Plantin Bible
• The first atlas by Ortelius
• The first Dutch-language dictionary
• A rare sketchbook by Rubens
• The large library and the historic inner garden

Founded

1877

Operated by

Stad Antwerpen

Visitors per year

approx. 130,000

Admission & discounts

Free admission: Every first Tuesday of the month free for Antwerp residents with an A-card (reduced rate).

Free admission applies to, among others, holders of the Lerarenkaart van Klasse (teacher card), Friends of the Antwerp municipal museums, holders of a discount pass, carers of people with disabilities and school groups with a teacher. The ticket is valid all day and also gives access to the audio guide and temporary exhibitions. Payment is cashless only (including Bancontact, Mastercard, Maestro, Visa, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Payconiq and V PAY); tickets cannot be cancelled or exchanged.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: not available
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The ground floor is accessible, the upper floor is not: there is no lift and there are steps in eight places. On the ground floor there is one narrow passage; an alternative route has been planned for it. Instead of the upper floor, a film is shown on the ground floor. At the desk a wheelchair can be borrowed for the ground floor and the garden; a mobility scooter cannot enter the building. Visitors who have difficulty with the entrance can phone +32 3 221 14 51, and a member of staff will come outside. At the desk an induction loop and folding stools can be borrowed, and several rooms have benches. A toilet for wheelchair users is on the ground floor across the courtyard. For blind and partially sighted visitors, the beeldenfluisteraar (audio-description guide) offers free guided tours on Friday mornings (confirm via +32 3 221 14 51). There is a step-by-step visitor guide with photos for visitors with autism. Reserved parking for people with disabilities: Oever (nos. 10 and 14, two spaces), Sint-Jansvliet (no. 3, three spaces) and Kammenstraat (no. 2).

Kids & families

• Baby changing facilities

Pushchairs can only be used on the ground floor; the upper floor is not accessible for buggies. A buggy can be borrowed at the desk. Backpacks with a child are not allowed in the galleries, but slings are. A changing table is next to room 7, opposite the inner courtyard; breastfeeding is also possible there. Visitors under 18 enter free.

Getting there & parking

Antwerp is a low-emission zone (LEZ). Velo stations are located at the Groenplaats, near the ModeMuseum and at the Zuiderterras. Kick scooters, folding bikes and scooters must be left outside at the bicycle racks on and around the Vrijdagmarkt.

Amenities & dining

• Café: not available
• Restaurant: not available
• Museum shop
• Lockers

There is no museum café; on the Vrijdagmarkt there are numerous eateries, and with your wristband you can re-enter afterwards. Eating and drinking are not allowed in the museum or in the garden. Bags and suitcases may not be taken into the galleries; a limited number of lockers are available in the entrance area.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Private parties
• Corporate events

Up to 150 guests.

Available are the auditorium (up to 35 people), the Printlab (up to 12), Nocturne small (up to 30 people, evening access to the public spaces and the inner garden, no catering) and Nocturne large (up to 150 people, catering possible in designated zones). Requests via evenementen.plantinmoretus@antwerpen.be.

Plan your visit