Project « Place of Leisure, Place of Power: The Origins of Mariemont under Mary of Hungary »

The establishment, construction, and landscaping of a hunting pavilion on the edge of the Morlanwelz woods for Mary of Hungary, regent of the Low Countries during the reign of Charles V, is a phenomenon that has already been well studied.

However, the place and role of Mariemont, alongside the palace of Binche - transformed at the same time by Jacques Du Brœucq for the regent - deserve to be reassessed. Binche and Mariemont were not merely leisure retreats for the court; they were also “places of power,” intended to highlight the glory and authority of the House of Habsburg in the region.

The devastation caused by the French campaign of 1554 - which proved fatal for Binche - should not overshadow the prestige of these residences and the brilliance of their short-lived courtly life.

Research projects:

Regional & Estate History

Researcher

Gilles Docquier

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Coal, gold and silver: Raoul Warocqué’s coin and medal collection

Very little is currently known by specialists or the general public about the majority of Mariemont’s coins and medals. And yet these numismatic collections are immense and varied, spanning the East and West and from Antiquity to the early 20th century.

From archive to object: a history of the Mariemont collections

The Royal Museum of Mariemont has quite exceptional archives we can use to study the history of Mariemont from the arrival of the Warocqué family in the early 19th century onwards.

The Great Century of Burgundian Rule: a challenge for Belgian history?

Over the last few years, through exhibitions, popular publications and quality television productions, the general public has been showing a renewed interest in the Burgundian era which lasted from the mid-14th to the mid-16th century.

Scientific team

The research carried out at Mariemont is organised around 8 thematic areas which reflect the specific features of the scientific work carried out in the museum sector.

There are around thirty collaborative research projects in which members of the Mariemont scientific team are involved.

The results of this research are made available to the scientific community and are the subject of ongoing accessibility work to ensure that they are passed on to the public.

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