Broelmuseum

The Broelmuseum was a municipal art museum in Kortrijk, Belgium, dedicated to fine arts from the late Middle Ages to the 20th century, with particular strength in works by artists connected to the Kortrijk region. Located on Buda Island at 6 Broelkaai, the museum occupied a converted 18th-century neoclassical mansion and operated from 1981 until its closure at the end of 2014. Its collection, owned by the Kortrijk City Museums, is now preserved in storage, with select works scheduled for display at the new Abby Kortrijk Museum, which opened in March 2025 in the renovated Groeninge Abbey. The museum's name derived from its proximity to the historic Broel Towers, two medieval structures that remain among Kortrijk's most recognizable landmarks.

The Broelmuseum emerged from the merger of two earlier municipal institutions: the Museum voor Schone Kunsten (Museum of Fine Arts) and the Museum voor Oudheidkunde en Sierkunst (Museum of Archaeology and Decorative Arts). Before World War II, the fine arts museum was housed in the Grote Lakenhallen (Great Cloth Hall) on what is now Schouwburgplein, while the archaeology and decorative arts museum occupied one of the two Broel Towers. The destruction of the Grote Lakenhallen by bombing in 1944 prompted a decision not to rebuild, but instead to unite both collections in an 18th-century building on Broelkaai. The museum formally opened in 1981. Major renovations followed in 1995, when all exhibition rooms were restored to their original condition, and in 1998, when a new wing was added to accommodate both old and modern visual arts. The museum closed in 2014 due to insufficient visitor numbers. The building was subsequently rebranded as Broelkaai 6, a platform for visual arts, and reopened in April 2018 following work to lower the Leie riverbanks. Plans to merge the Broelmuseum collection resumed in 2018. The collection was later slated for integration with museum Kortrijk 1302, which is dedicated to the history of the Battle of the Golden Spurs, and ultimately found new presentation at the Abby Kortrijk Museum in 2025.

The permanent collection was built around artists who lived and worked in Kortrijk, spanning from the late Middle Ages to the present day. Its chronological range emphasized the 16th and 19th centuries, with particular depth in regional painting. Two full rooms were devoted to the work of Roelant Savery, a Dutch Golden Age painter born in Kortrijk. The collection also included an international ceramics collection. Beyond its permanent holdings, the museum regularly organized contemporary thematic exhibitions addressing art and design, with subjects ranging from Art Nouveau and Art Deco to the relationship between visual art and sound. The museum garden contained the Orangerie, featuring original interior fittings by the Kortrijk-based Kunstwerkstede De Coene, a decorative arts workshop active from 1888 to 1977.

The collection featured works by several significant painters with Kortrijk connections. Roelant Savery and his brother Jacob Savery were represented, as were Karel van Mander, Kerstiaen De Keuninck, Louis-Pierre Verwee, Évariste Carpentier, Louis Robbe, Edward Woutermaertens, and Vincent De Vos. The French-language sources additionally mention Joseph De Coene, Bernaert de Rijckere, and Jan Baptiste de Jonghe as artists in the collection. Two entire galleries were dedicated to Roelant Savery, reflecting both the quantity and quality of his holdings. The collection also included pieces by Constant Woutermaertens, complementing the works of his relative Edward Woutermaertens. All works remain the property of the Stedelijke Musea van Kortrijk and are held in complete storage, with portions to be exhibited at the Abby Kortrijk Museum.

The museum occupied an 18th-century neoclassical mansion at 6 Broelkaai, situated on Buda Island along the Leie river, near the medieval Broel Towers that gave the institution its name. The building held historical significance as the site where the Treaty of Kortrijk was signed in 1820. The structure was converted for museum use following the 1944 destruction of the previous fine arts museum building. The 1995 restoration returned the exhibition rooms to their original state, while the 1998 addition provided expanded gallery space. The museum garden featured an Orangerie with original interiors by Kunstwerkstede De Coene. Following the 2014 closure, the building was repurposed as Broelkaai 6, a cultural center and platform for visual arts, with reopening in 2018 made possible by infrastructure work on the Leie riverbanks.

The Broelmuseum is no longer operational as a museum. Its former location at 6 Broelkaai in Kortrijk, Belgium, now functions as Broelkaai 6, a platform for visual arts that opened in 2018. The collection, owned by the Kortrijk City Museums, is not currently on permanent public display but is held in complete storage. Art historians and visitors seeking to view works from the former Broelmuseum collection may do so at the Abby Kortrijk Museum, which opened in March 2025 in the renovated buildings and new extension of the Groeninge Abbey in Kortrijk, where alternating exhibitions will feature selections from the collection.