Halle Gate
Together the Royal Museums of Fine Arts and Art and History welcome more than 1.1 million visitors a year: this is the equivalent of the population of Brussels. Merged, the two institutions would increase their attractiveness to the public: by reorganizing the presentation of the collections between the different institutions; by creating poles of scientific excellence based on the strong points of the collections; by creating new museum entities that offer a new dimension for marketing the city of Brussels; and by rationalizing the teams and practices employed. For the Royal Museums of Art and History, the entities proposed are as follows : a Museum of Non-European Civilizations, which would initially be a world museum through the eyes of Europeans, on the basis of which a new intercultural dialogue could be initiated; a Museum of Antiquities as a platform for the European identity; and a Museum of Music that will broaden the perspectives of the current Museum of Musical Instruments. Plus a few heritage assets – the Chinese Pavilion, the Japanese Tower and Halle Gate – which contribute to the attractiveness of the city.