The Renaissance library at the Plantin-Moretus Museum in Antwerp, Belgium


The Plantin-Moretus Museum is a museum in Antwerp, Belgium honoring the printers Christophe Plantin and Jan Moretus. It is located in their former residence and printing establishment, Plantin Press, at the Friday Market. The printing company was founded in the 16th century by Christophe Plantin. After his death it was owned by his son-in-law Jan Moretus. In 1876 Edward Moretus sold the company to the city of Antwerp. One year later the public could visit the living areas and the printing presses. In 2002 the museum was nominated as UNESCO World Heritage Site and in 2005 was inscribed onto the World Heritage list. The Plantin-Moretus Museum possesses an exceptional collection of typographical material. Not only does it house the two oldest surviving printing presses in the world and complete sets of dies and matrices, it also has an extensive library, a richly decorated interior and the entire archives of the Plantin business, which were inscribed on UNESCO's Memory of the World Programme Register in 2001 in recognition of their historical significance.


Size: 5616px × 3744px
Location: Plantin-Moretus Museum, Vrijdagmark 22, Antwerp, Flanders, Belgium, Western Europe
Photo credit: © DE ROCKER / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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