No more theme for Open Monument Day

“After 26 years, it was difficult to come up with themes,” explained Liesbeth De Maeyer, spokesperson for Herita, the organisation that runs the event. “We also found that local organisers had trouble presenting themselves in a new and original way.”

For its 27th edition, monuments of all types across the region will be free to open, released from the constraints of an annual theme. The organisation wants to pay more attention to sites that are under threat or badly maintained, which might otherwise not be included under the Open Monument Day theme.

“We want to attract more people with more exclusive monuments,” De Maeyer said. One example is the only building in Belgium designed by the French architect Le Corbusier – the Maison Guiette in Antwerp (pictured) – which will be part of the event for the first time. Open Monument Day attracts some 400,000 visitors a year.

Open Monument Day takes place across Flanders on 13 September.

Photo courtesy jjforest/Archikey