Birth of Henri La Fontaine († 1943)

Specialised in international law, Henri La Fontaine is one of the first Belgian feminists, one of the first Belgian socialist senators, and above all a great figure of pacifism crowned with the Nobel Peace Prize in 1913. Passionate about bibliography, he is the originator, along with Paul Otlet, of the creation of the Mundaneum.

Birth of Léonie La Fontaine († 1949)

Prominent figure in feminism, Léonie, along with her brother Henri, participates in the creation of the first Belgian feminist organisation in 1892. Long forgotten in the history of the Mundaneum, she nevertheless participates in its creation and activities. She creates the Central Office for Documentation on Women there in 1909.

Birth of Paul Otlet († 1944)

Considered as the father of documentation and one of the precursors of the Internet, Paul Otlet firmly believes that access to knowledge leads to universal peace.

It is for this purpose that he creates the Mundaneum with Henri La Fontaine, with whom he shares his passion for bibliography and the pacifist ideal. A true visionary, he dedicates himself until the end of his life to the realisation of the utopian project of a World City dedicated to knowledge and international cooperation.

Meeting of Paul Otlet and Henri La Fontaine

While studying law to take over the family business, Paul Otlet becomes an intern in the office of the famous lawyer and man of letters Edmond Picard, of whom Henri La Fontaine was one of the secretaries. They work together on the drafting of the collection of jurisprudence Les Pandectes belges and discover a common interest in bibliography. It is following this decisive meeting that they have the idea to create the Mundaneum.

Creation of the IOB

The International Office of Bibliography (IOB), the institution in which the Mundaneum finds its roots, is created following the first international conference on bibliography held in Brussels. The primary objective of the IOB is to establish the Universal Bibliographic Repertory (UBR), a tool that allows for the retrieval of any book in the world.

Universal Bibliographic Repertory

In 1900, the UBR was awarded at the Universal Exhibition in Paris. Its universal nature makes it a huge bibliographic database, which has earned it the nickname “Paper Internet” at times. It is for this reason that some consider it to be one of the first search engines.

First complete edition of the UDC

The Universal Decimal Classification (UDC), which consists of classifying publications based on a number, is a universal language developed by Paul Otlet and Henri La Fontaine based on the Decimal Classification of American librarian Melvil Dewey. This system will undergo numerous developments and will be adopted by a very large number of libraries worldwide.

Development of the concept of documentation

Starting from the observation that knowledge is not only found in books, Paul Otlet expands his field of action to other sources of information and thus gives birth to the concept of documentation. Several sections are created between 1905 and 1910 within the International Institute of Bibliography to materialise this idea of documentary encyclopaedia.

Creation of the International Museum

In addition to the Brussels World Exhibition, an international museum is established. Intended to bring together international collections aimed at illustrating the world and its knowledge, it is then installed at the Palais du Cinquantenaire.

World City

The idea of a World City, an international centre of knowledge for peace, germinated in the mind of Paul Otlet. This utopian project, for which Otlet collaborated with several architects, including Le Corbusier, underwent many evolutions until the 1930s. This “capital of the world” was considered in several locations such as Geneva, Brussels, or Antwerp, but was never built.

Inauguration of the Palais Mondial-Mundaneum (World Palace – Mundaneum)

The International Museum and the various institutions created by Otlet and La Fontaine are brought together at the Palais du Cinquantenaire in Brussels to form the World-Mundaneum Palace. About a hundred rooms are opened for this museum of a new kind: an encyclopaedic museum presenting all the knowledge of the world in the form of models, objects, and posters with the aim of sharing this knowledge with as many people as possible.

International Rubber Exhibition at the Palais Mondial-Mundaneum (World Palace – Mundaneum)

Part of the rooms occupied by the Palais Mondial-Mundaneum (World Palace – Mundaneum) in the Palais du Cinquantenaire  must be vacated to make way for a rubber fair. This event marks the beginning of the questioning of the World Palace by the government.

Publication of the Treaty of Documentation

Paul Otlet publishes in his most famous work, the Treaty of Documentation, the synthesis of his thinking on bibliography, documentation, and knowledge organisation. He notably mentions new technologies enabling the dissemination of knowledge.

Closure of the Palais Mondial-Mundaneum (World Palace – Mundaneum)

The Belgian government decides to close the Palais Mondial-Mundaneum. The collections are then inaccessible, but the work of the International Institute of Bibliography continues at Paul Otlet’s home.

First relocation of the collections

During the Second World War, the Palais du Cinquantenaire is requisitioned by the Germans. The collections are relocated to a wing of the Institute of Anatomy, in the Parc Léopold in Etterbeek.

The Friends of the Palais Mondial

After the death of Henri la Fontaine in 1943 and Paul Otlet in 1944, the association of the Friends of the Palais Mondial, particularly Georges Lorphèvre and André Colet, continue the activities of the Mundaneum.

Second relocation of the collections

The collections are relocated to a building located on Chaussée de Louvain. Other relocations follow, eventually ending up in an underground parking lot beneath Place Rogier, under deplorable conservation conditions.

The collections become the property of the French Community

In 1984, after years of wandering, the Friends of the Palais-Mondial transferred the entire collections to the French Community of Belgium.

Arrival in Mons

At the initiative of Elio Di Rupo, at the time Minister of Education of the French Community, the collections are transferred to Mons, in an Art Deco building located on Rue de Nimy, known by the people of Mons to be a former cooperative department store called “L’indépendance”.

The non-profit organisation “Mundaneum” is then created to manage and enhance this archival heritage.

Opening of the museum space

In the heart of the Art Deco building, the Mundaneum inaugurates a museum space whose scenography is created by François Schuiten and Benoît Peeters. The Universal Bibliographic Repertory placed on the walls, the world map adorning the ceiling, and the monumental sphere of the central space are the key elements of their scenography and still today constitute the strong identity of the institution.

UNESCO World Heritage

The Universal Bibliographic Repertory is registered in the “Memory of the World” register of UNESCO, whose mission is to facilitate the preservation of the world’s documentary heritage using the most appropriate techniques, to help ensure universal access to it, as well as to raise awareness, worldwide, of the existence and value of documentary heritage.

Renovation of the archives centre and museum space.

A new underground storage space allows for the consolidation of all collections, previously housed in several warehouses on Rue de Nimy in Mons. An annexe and an inner courtyard complete the museum space dedicated to the public.

European Heritage Label

The sites of the “European Heritage Label” are milestones of today’s Europe. The network of people and institutions woven by Paul Otlet and Henri La Fontaine has contributed to the exchange and opening of new partnerships in favour of intercultural dialogue on a European and global scale. Thanks to this label obtained in 2016, the Mundaneum is recognised as a historical symbol of peace through culture in Europe.

Inauguration of the permanent exhibition

After several years of reflexion, the Mundaneum has designed a permanent exhibition on its history and its founders, Paul Otlet, Henri and Léonie La Fontaine. This exhibition, entitled “The Mundaneum. Machine for thinking the world”, aims to be in continuity with the scenography imagined by François Schuiten and Benoît Peeters and revolves around the key elements of the Mundaneum’s history: the values of peace, universalism, humanism and knowledge, which are at the foundation of its creation; visionary personalities; utopian projects such as the Universal Bibliographic Repertory or the World City; and finally, the specialised archive centre on pacifism, anarchism and feminism that the institution has become today.