About the Letterenhuis

The Letterenhuis is the literary archive of Flanders. It collects and preserves manuscripts, letters, photographs and other documents by writers, poets, publishers and literary magazines from 1800 to the present.

This collection forms the ideal source material for researching biographies, text editions and literary or cultural-historic studies.

A summary of the collection can be viewed online in Agrippa, the digital database of the Letterenhuis. Documents can be consulted in the reading room.

In a permanent exhibition, the most important and most appealing pieces in the archive – including paintings, posters and sculptures – tell the exciting story of Flemish literature in the 19th and 20th century.

The Letterenhuis in a nutshell

The Letterenhuis is the literary archive of Flanders. It brings people together around the subject of literary heritage by working with many and diverse partners to collect, preserve and unlock the collection. In the reading room and increasingly online, you can access the rich collection for research purposes.

History

The ‘Museum van de Vlaamsche Letterkunde' [Museum of Flemish Literature] was founded in 1933. More than 80 years later, the Letterenhuis has grown into a literary archive centre for Flanders. It stimulates attention for the literary heritage and collects, preserves and makes accessible the archival and documentary heritage of literature in Flanders.

The building

The Letterenhuis was originally housed in the De Beukelaer House on the Minderbroedersrui. In 1959, a new and modern building in the Minderbroedersstraat was taken into use.

Flemish Masterpieces

The Flemish Masterpieces Decree protects rare and indispensable masterpieces. The list includes two manuscripts from the Letterenhuis collection.

Antwerpen Boekenstad

Antwerp Book City

Antwerpen Boekenstad [Antwerp Book City] carries out a support policy for existing projects and a promotional policy that profiles Antwerp as the book metropolis for Flanders.

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