Archives de l’Académie royale des Sciences, des Lettres et des Beaux-Arts de Belgique

In the second half of the 18th century, Brussels and about two thirds of present-day Belgium were part of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. Empress Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia was the sovereign. In 1769, a Literary Society was founded in Brussels under the auspices of the Count of Cobenzl, Minister Plenipotentiary of Empress Maria Theresa to Prince Charles of Lorraine, Lieutenant Governor and Captain General of the Netherlands. Three years later, the Literary Society received from Empress Marie-Thérèse the title of Imperial and Royal Academy of Sciences and Literature of Brussels, as well as several important privileges for the time. The Sovereign tasked the new scholars with animating the country's intellectual life and stimulating scientific research in diverse fields. On 21 May 1794, the Imperial and Royal Academy held its last meeting. The conquest of Belgium by France suspended the institution's activity for twenty-two years. By Royal Decree of 17 May 1816, King William I of the Netherlands re-established it as the Royal Academy of Sciences and Literature. The Academy survived the Revolution of 1830 intact. In December 1837, the Faculty of Literature was expanded to include a section of Moral and Political Sciences. On 1 December 1845, the Academy was reorganized by King Leopold I, who clearly divided the Science Faculty from the Literature Faculty and added the Fine Arts Faculty. Since then the Academy has been called the Royal Academy of Sciences, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium. It was granted the state of a civil personality by the law of 2 August 1924. The law of 1 July 1971 regulated the use of languages; the lingua franca of the Academy is French.  

The Academy's reading room - l'Espace Englert - is accessible to visitors over 18 years old after registration.