In October 2025, the ANTE Festival will debut in Brussels for its initial installment.
The Belgian capital is gearing up for a unique cultural event, as the ANTE Festival is set to take place over two weekends in October 2025. This new event, organised by the team behind the annual BANAD Festival, will delve into Brussels' architectural heritage from the "long" 19th century, roughly 1780 to 1920.
The ANTE Festival aims to become a key player in the cultural calendar, inviting visitors to explore the foundations of modernity in Brussels' built heritage. A diverse range of venues, some of which have never before been open to the public, will be featured. These include Maison Hap, Hotel Knuyt de Vosmaer, Hotel Campioni, and the Ancien Château Bischoffsheim.
Guided tours in French, Dutch, and English will be available, along with other activities designed for architecture enthusiasts. Previews of these venues have already been added to the press release, offering a tantalising glimpse of what's to come.
While the BANAD Festival usually occurs earlier in the year, ANTE Festival is its own dedicated event in October, focusing specifically on the 19th-century architectural legacy of Brussels. The festival is expected to attract a large range of architecture lovers to the city, showcasing a century's worth of evolution, transition, division, and large-scale technical and stylistic experimentation in Brussels' architectural treasures.
The BANAD Festival, an annual event on the Belgian and international architecture scene, includes enthusiastic guides who tell the sometimes long-forgotten stories of the houses, their designers, and their inhabitants. Outside of the festivals, Explore.Brussels regularly organises visits to some of Brussels' most beautiful heritage.
It's important to note that the ANTE Festival is not related to the Eclectic and Neoclassical Biennales, which have been merged into the ANTE Festival. The Eclectic and Neoclassical Biennales, along with the ANTE Festival, were previous events organised by Explore.Brussels. The BANAD Festival 2025 has already passed, and a full programme for the ANTE Festival will be published after the summer break.
The ANTE Festival is expected to be a significant event in the cultural calendar, offering a captivating journey through Brussels' architectural history. Mark your calendars for October 11-12 and October 18-19, 2025, and prepare to immerse yourself in the city's rich architectural heritage.
- The ANTE Festival invites visitors to explore the foundations of modernity in Brussels' built heritage, delving into the city's architectural legacy from the "long" 19th century.
- Guided tours in French, Dutch, and English will be available during the ANTE Festival, providing architecture enthusiasts with a comprehensive understanding of Brussels' historical architectural treasures.
- Guides participating in both the ANTE Festival and the BANAD Festival share captivating stories about the houses, their designers, and their inhabitants, offering a unique cultural experience.
- To complement the architectural tours, visitors can engage with other activities designed specifically for the ANTE Festival, held in venues such as Maison Hap, Hotel Knuyt de Vosmaer, Hotel Campioni, and the Ancien Château Bischoffsheim.
- Previews of these venues showcase a century's worth of evolution, transition, division, and large-scale technical and stylistic experimentation in Brussels' architectural treasures, making the ANTE Festival a must-attend event for home-and-garden and architecture enthusiasts alike.
