Antwerp’s Museum Plantin-Moretus to close for four-month renovation ahead of anniversary relaunch

Antwerp’s Museum Plantin-Moretus will close its doors from 3 August 2026 for a four-month renovation as it prepares to unveil a completely redesigned permanent exhibition later this year.

The temporary closure is part of preparations for a major renewal marking two milestones: the museum’s 150th anniversary and the 450th anniversary of the historic Plantin printing house. The revamped museum will feature a new visitor route, contemporary exhibition design and an interactive visitor app, aimed at making the story of the Plantin-Moretus family and their world-famous printing business more accessible and engaging for a broad audience.

Before the closure, visitors still have the opportunity to explore the museum until 3 August. This also marks the final chance to visit the temporary exhibition ‘Plants of Plantin‘ and enjoy the recently redesigned museum garden.

Alderman for Culture Lien Van de Kelder (Vooruit) said: “With 150 years as a museum and 450 years of printing history as strong roots, the Museum Plantin-Moretus continues to grow. Be sure to visit our wonderful exhibition ‘Plants of Plantin’, with Museum Night on 1 August as its highlight. After that, the museum will close for renovation before reopening with a festive celebration in December. I’m already looking forward to it.”

The museum will reopen during a celebratory weekend on 5 and 6 December 2026, when visitors will be the first to experience the renewed permanent exhibition. Further details about the renovation and reopening programme will be announced over the coming months.

Art and museums in Antwerp

Leave a Reply

To respond on your own website, enter the URL of your response which should contain a link to this post's permalink URL. Your response will then appear (possibly after moderation) on this page. Want to update or remove your response? Update or delete your post and re-enter your post's URL again. (Find out more about Webmentions.)