Black Sisters Museum

Opening hours

Summer hours : 8.a.m. to 5p.m.

Winter hours: 8a.m to 6 p.m.

Museum of
Black Sisters

Opening hours

Summer hours :

8.a.m. to 5p.m.

Winter hours:

8a.m to 6 p.m.

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The Black Sisters originated in the Middle Ages during a late emergence of the movement to serve the poor: the Cellites.

Born in the Rhineland, the movement spread widely throughout the Netherlands in the 14th century.

Responsible for caring for plague victims, the Black Sisters could count on the support of the local population.

In 1459, Pope Pius II issued a bull allowing the various Cellite communities to adopt the Rule of St. Augustine and take their vows.

They were given the title of Black Sisters.

In a letter from the alderman dated 1465, we find the first mention of the convent of the Black Sisters in Brussels: ‘de swesteren in bruessel geheten thuys van affrica’.

Although the convent of the Black Sisters was certainly not the largest or most influential in the city, it was nevertheless more prosperous than other communities of Black Sisters in the Southern Netherlands.

This can be explained by the fact that Brussels was the administrative and political capital of the country.

The ‘clientele’ of the Black Sisters of Brussels was undoubtedly wealthier than in other cities.

Following the relocation of the convent from the centre of Brussels in 1998, part of the heritage of the Black Sisters was entrusted to the non-profit organisation Friends of the National Basilica of Koekelberg.

The community’s movable property was thus brought together in a dedicated museum space.

Paintings from the Flemish school from the 16th to the 19th century.
Furniture and objets d’art: Flemish, 17th to 19th century.
Silver, pewter, porcelain and copper tableware from the 17th to the 19th century.
Flemish religious sculptures and statues from the 14th to the 19th century.
Brussels and Flemish bobbin lace and needle lace from the 18th to the 19th century.