The Plantin-Moretus House, Workshop and Museum Complex
Around the world there are several cases, in various forms, of historical and cultural sites accompanied by museums. There are also others that are unique in their qualities. This second, highly exclusive category includes our very own Plantin – Moretus Museum.
‘The Plantin – Moretus Museum is a printing plant and publishing house dating from the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Situated in Antwerp, one of the three leading cities of early European printing along with Paris and Venice, it is associated with the history of the invention and spread of typography. Its name refers to the greatest printer – publisher of the second half of the 16th century: Christopher Plantin (c. 1520 – 1589). This monument is of outstanding architectural value. It contains exhaustive evidence of the life and work of what was the most prolific printing and publishing house in Europe in the late 16th century. The building of the company, which remained in use until 1867, contains a large collection of old printing equipment, an extensive library, invaluable archives and works of art, among them paintings by Rubens’.
This is how the complex is introduced in the UNESCO World Heritage List and the press release distributed by the UNESCO World Heritage Centre via the Internet immediately after the official inclusion of this cultural site on the list on 15th July 2005 under the name ‘The Plantin – Moretus House - Workshops Museum Complex’. The essence of this entity is thereby accurately summarised: it is not just a museum, but a collection of distinct components, each considered to be of very great importance, which together form an ensemble unique in the world and so highly significant that it is now one of the very few sites in Western Europe to have qualified for inclusion of the World Heritage List.
Museum Plantin-Moretus/Prentenkabinet
Vrijdagmarkt 22
2000 Antwerpen
Tel. + 32 (0) 3 221 14 50
museum.plantin.moretus@stad.antwerpen.be
www.museumplantinmoretus.be
