Venue rental and filming

Our stunning Nottebohm Room is the perfect setting for a lecture, a seminar, a film shoot or a book launch. You can also rent the Eekhoud Cabinet.

Oscar Nottebohm

The Nottebohm Room in the Hendrik Conscience Heritage Library is named after the Antwerp patron Oscar Nottebohm (1865-1935). This particular descendant of the Nottebohm family was a grandson of Diederich Wilhelm Nottebohm who moved to Antwerp from Bielefeld in 1811.

Egyptian Cabinet

There is a remarkable piece of furniture in the Nottebohm Room: The Egyptian Cabinet. It holds twelve unique and impressive volumes containing a total of nine hundred lithographs by Eberhard Weidenbach. The book itself is the ‘Denkmäler aus Aegypten und Aethiopiën’ by Karl Richard Lepsius, the result of a three-year expedition along the Nile Valley starting in 1842.

Construction of a globe

A globe is constructed according to the rules of the art and does not merely consist of the sphere itself. Likewise the wooden axis construction and the mount are of paramount importance.

Restoration process

The restoration of the globes proceeded in different phases. Globes are complex objects made from various materials. Not only the paper of which the globes were made had to pass through a number of treatments, but also the mountings that support them required a specific approach.

Guided tour behind the scenes

For groups

Take a look behind the scenes of the Hendrik Conscience Heritage Library with your group or association and learn more about our fascinating history and comprehensive collection.

Requesting loans

Loan a book to exhibit it? Find out how to request a loan.

Contact us

Contact us with your questions or for further information. You can use our general contact details for this. Contact one of our employees directly for specific questions.

Images of a changing city: photographs of Antwerp from the 1860’s

In 1860, photographer Edmond Fierlants (1819-1869) was given the task of documenting the historical monuments of the city. It was one of the first large-scale series of urban photography in the world.

Out and about in Antwerp

There is always something to discover in a diverse city like Antwerp. Maybe you think that you know all of the secrets of Antwerp or maybe you are a newcomer. It doesn’t matter how well you know Antwerp because we will let you discover a different side of the city’s many tourist attractions and will take you on a tour of the Eilandje, the new trendy district. So Antwerp continues to be an adventure for everyone!