How could a country as big as Congo ever become a Belgian Colony? Let’s go back in time, to the year 1860 when the duke of Brabant (who later became King Leopold II) had the words “Il faut à la Belgique une colonie” (Belgium needs a colony) chiseled in marble. He will never get rid of this obsession.
We start our journey in front of the Belvue museum: the place where Belgians who had fled the Congo in 1960 had to be enlisted. Left of it the Royal Palace from where the spider in the web had directed the operations, making him one of the richest men in Europe. After crossing the Place Royale that once housed the Ministry of the Colonies and passing in front of the former military academy (where the king recruited officers to be sent to Congo and where Stanley signed his contract) we will reach the Scandinavian Pavilion, a remarkable art nouveau building and once the press office (and secret service) of the colony. Furthermore, we will meet Albert Thys, Adolphe Stoclet, Joseph Conrad… and the king himself (cast in bronze and on horseback). The second part of our expedition leads us through Matongé, the vibrant Congolese neighborhood of the city.
Belvue museum
Koningsplein
Namur street
Brederodestraat
Throne Square
Egmontstraat
Street Alsace-Lorraine
Dublin Street
Long Life Street
The “Futur Place Lumumba”
The Saint Boniface Church
The Waverse stone road
The Matongé Gallery
The square Patrice Lumumba
Standard duration: 3 hours
(this can be adjusted when requested)
Price: €160
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