Mundaneum

The origins of the Mundaneum date back to the late 19th century. Created by two Belgian lawyers, Paul Otlet (1868-1944), father of documentation, and Henri La Fontaine (1854-1943), Nobel Peace Prize laureate, the project aimed to collect all knowledge and to classify it according to the Universal Decimal System they had developed. Today, their visionary enterprise marks them as pioneers of the World Wide Web and the Internet. Next to the personal archives of the founders, books, small documents, posters, post cards and glass plates, the Mundaneum preserves the 12 million index cards of the Universal Bibliographic Repertory (Unesco “Memory of the World” Heritage), the Press International Museum and specialised funds on pacifism, anarchism, and feminism. Combining history and modern day perspectives, the Mundaneum’s fascinating exhibition space takes you on an incredible journey to the centre of the information universe! The “Mundaneum” App offers visitors 3 unique exhibition experiences that delve into its rich and influential legacy including The Origins of the Internet in Europe, the 100th Anniversary of a Nobel Peace Prize, and Mapping Knowledge.