In 1935, Parliament approved the decision to develop a railway link between the city’s southern and northern districts. The implementation of the project started with the expropriation of several parcels of land. This created an environmental vacuum in the Bank’s immediate vicinity. The then Governor Georges Janssen saw this as a chance to solve the lack of space the National Bank had been coping with for years, and he seized this opportunity to draw up a plan which not only provided for new offices, but also for the construction of new printing works. The architect commissioned to design these buildings was Marcel Van Goethem.

The original building plans were approved in January 1940. They involved two separate main buildings which would be connected by an underground cellar system. The design also provided room for an underground shelter, thus ensuring a swift evacuation through the subterranean passage which linked up with the North-South railway connection. Due to the threat of war, the building of an air-raid shelter became increasingly urgent. However, in May 1940, after the invasion by Nazi Germany, it was decided to postpone the completion of the plans until a later, more appropriate time. Finally, after the war, it was decided not to build a shelter after all. 

In 1948, the construction of the new building started. During the war, architect Van Goethem had further elaborated his plans for the new National Bank, and at the same time, he had thoroughly studied the design of other national banks such as that of the Bank of England and the Banque de France. In Van Goethem’s original plan, the architect opted for demolishing the old Hôtel du Gouverneur, designed by Hendrik Beyaert, and using the vacant space to extend the head office. In his vision, the back of the Bank ought to have resembled “comb teeth”. Eventually, it was decided to save the old part of the Bank from demolition.

It took no less than 10 years to build the new head office, with construction work carried out in different phases so as to allow the employees to continue their tasks throughout the project. Because of the building’s special location, a number of problems soon arose during the design process. Because of the considerable unevenness of the plot, the fact that the new building was to a large extent situated above the tunnel of the North-South connection and the character of the soil on which it was being built (partially quicksand), Van Goethem, together with the engineers and contractors, had to take the necessary precautions against subsidence. Furthermore, solid insulation had to be installed as a buffer to the sounds and vibrations caused by the North-South connection.

The final result was a huge, monumental building covering the entire length of the Boulevard de Berlaimont (about 200 metres). Moreover, there were visible signs that Van Goethem had paid special attention to security in his design. For instance, the building had only one main entrance, protected by an iron grate.

Many consider the National Bank’s building to be a paragon of modernism. Its front displays a great simplicity without losing any of its grandeur. Among other things, this grandeur which the building of the National Bank had to display as one of the country’s major financial institutions, was created by the immense colonnade adorning the front. The various pillars lent the building a reticent character, so that the architecture would inspire trust and security among the general public. At the same time, the pillars were constructed in such a way as to let a huge amount of light to penetrate into the building and to make the front, with its interplay of light and windows, more visible. At both ends, the large colonnade was completed by two rotundas. Next to these “blank walls”, Van Goethem’s design links up imperceptibly with Beyaert’s building. In order to break the monotony of these rotundas, a bronze statue was installed at both sides. On the south side, we see a “seated woman”, sculptured by Georges Grard, whereas on the other side, there is the statue of a “kneeling girl”. Along with the Grard statue, this work by Charles Leplae has become one of the National Bank’s symbols. 

The National Bank's entrance with M. Rau's aluminium figures

The austere style chosen by Van Goethem implied that a profusion of decorative elements was inappropriate for the front of the NBB building. The few decorations installed are all by Marcel Rau, the man who – from the 1950s to the 1970s – inspired the look of many Belgian coins. The walls of the two rotundas at both ends of the building were decorated with sculptured medallions. These references to numismatics represent the various trades. Above the main entrance, a number of aluminium figures were installed.  

Originally, the Bank’s new building caused a lot of controversy and it divided public opinion. People reproached the Bank for a megalomaniac attitude, a view that was enhanced by the huge building costs for the new head office. Today, we see that the protest was only a fleeting phase and that the Bank now attracts the attention of everyone who is passing the building. 

Veronique Deblon
Museum guide 

BIBLIOGRAPHY
‘La jonction Nord-Midi à Bruxelles’, brochure published by the Office National pour l’achèvement de la Jonction Nord-Midi and the Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Belges.

M. VAN GOETHEM, Immeuble de la Banque Nationale à Bruxelles, in: Rythme, no. 15, June 1953, pp. 6 – 13.

Marcel Van Goethem, architecte D.P.L.G. Oeuvres et études, 1940 – 1959, Brussels, NBB, 1959.

P. Kauch, De gebouwen van de Nationale Bank van België in Brussel, NBB Review, 1964, N°2-3.

National Heritage Day: heroes of gold, silver and paper.

The Museum of the National Bank of Belgium participates in the National Heritage Day, a festive day about the cultural heritage in Flanders and Brussels.
This year’s theme is “Heroes”.

When: Sunday 22nd April 2012

Where:  Museum of the National Bank of Belgium, Wildwoudstraat 10, Brussels

What:
You can learn all about the golden, silver or paper heroes in the collection of the National Bank of Belgium: strong or brave, man or woman, men of real exploits, they were all very welcome in our pocket once… Children can become a hero themselves by playing a game!

Reservations: by phone: 02 221 22 06 or e-mail museum@nbb.be
 Entry is free.

Before the advent of money or even commodity money, economic activity was organised by means of barter trade. Bartering is not just a relic of the past; in fact, it has existed throughout the ages. But It is particularly in periods when people find it hard to make ends meet or when official money is in short supply that barter systems take hold – just think of the Great Depression and the Yugoslavian civil war. Nowadays too, barter systems are making great strides. The most well-known is the LETSystem.
The LETSystem has various definitions. In general terms, it can certainly be said that it consists of a locally organised barter network within which non-professional goods and services are bartered on a voluntary basis. To prevent a situation where there always has to be a bilateral transaction, the system operates on the basis of points that serve as a notional unit of currency. This points system thus allows for multilateral transactions. As a rule, the points have no monetary value. They merely serve to prevent a situation where there are people who only provide or receive services. There are of course variations on the LETS model that operate with units of currency that can be exchanged. Thus, in the Rabotwijk area of Ghent, people are paid with ‘Torekes’ for carrying out community work and this alternative unit of currency can be used as a means of payment in certain shops.

A barter group has the status of a society or a not-for-profit association. The size of barter groups usually varies from a few tens to a few hundreds of participants. Groups with more than a thousand members are the exception. Some groups choose to operate only on a local basis. Others in turn have organised themselves into umbrella organisations. In Belgium, LETS Flanders and Intersel take on this role for Flanders and Wallonia respectively.

The LETS barter system has its origins in the social movement of the 1960s and 1970s in Vancouver. In a period of economic instability and influenced by the hippie movement, Michael Linton, together with David Weston, developed a first barter system in 1976 that they dubbed ‘Community Exchange’. This precursor of the LETSystem was based on the bartering of time and it met with little success initially. It was not until the decline in economic activity at the beginning of the 1980s that the ideas of Michael Linton gained support. The high level of unemployment and financial uncertainty prompted Michael Linton to set up a first LETS group in 1983. He wanted to give the jobless population a way of supporting itself. The system made use of the ‘Green Dollar’, a new local currency that was made equivalent in value to the Canadian dollar instead of time. This first pilot project only existed for a few years due to a lack of transparency and trust and an excessive centralisation. But it was not long before the LETS model was picked up once again. The imposition of fish quotas caused the Canadian maritime areas to suffer high unemployment figures but this time people did indeed succeed in withstanding the crisis by means of LETS groups. Moreover, the benefits in this respect are seen not only in economic terms but also in social terms.

The success story of LETSystems in the Canadian maritime regions was an example that also found imitators abroad. To begin with, the LETS model spread through the English-speaking world, then also in other industrialised countries. Four-fifths of the total number of LETS groups are located in Argentina, a statistic that is largely attributable to the currency crisis of 2001. It should also be pointed out that LETSystems hardly occur at all in Central America, Eastern Europe, Africa or Asia, with the exception of Japan.

The first Belgian LETS group was set up in Leuven in 1993. Today, there are 31 active LETS groups in Flanders and 14 in Brussels and Wallonia. It is possible to detect a marked increase over the last few years – the number of groups has almost doubled since 2008. The majority were set up to strengthen the sense of community but there are also LETS groups that were founded as a result of considerations relating to the social economy. For instance, the barter group of Sint-Niklaas, together with the Belgian Ministry of Employment and the Flemish Department of Employment and Professional Training, tries to help the jobless into work. Every barter group has its own points system – for instance, ‘Stropjes’ are used in Ghent, ‘Pollekens’ or ‘Handjes’ in Antwerp and ‘Vlasbloemen’ are used to make payment in Kortrijk.

The application of the model may vary considerably. In the UK, for instance, LETSystems were promoted during periods of unemployment to ensure that the jobless would not lose their skills and would even learn new skills. The acronym was given a different meaning: Local Employment and Training System. In Belgium, LETSystems were in turn promoted due to their social character and here too, a new meaning was put forward: Leuk Eigen Tijds Samenwerken, or in other words: doing Life-Enhancing Tasks for others in your Spare time. Lastly, LETSystems were stimulated as a result of ecological considerations. The various aims and organisational forms led to the development of new terms. In the US and the UK, for example, use is made of ‘timebanks’, where the number of hours worked is taken as the unit of account and not the value of the services provided. The majority of Belgian LETS groups are organised according to these principles. Another application comprises the Seniorengenossenschaften, or ‘senior citizens’ associations’, in Germany and the Japanese Hureia Kippu system, both these barter groups being specifically focused on care of the elderly. Those people who provide services can save their credits up for whenever they themselves need to make use of them.

JANNES VAN EECKHOUT
Museum Guide

Bibliography

• DAUWE (P.), DE CLERCQ (L.), LETS & complementaire economie: ondersteuning, promotie, groei, innovatief, experimenteel, expertise. Aalter, LETS Flanders not-for-profit association, 2002.
• LIETAER (B.), Het geld van de toekomst: een nieuwe visie op welzijn, werk en een humanere wereld. Amsterdam, De Boekerij bv, 2001.
• SIMONSON (M.), Étude d’un systeme d’échange de services sans argent. dissertation, Department of Political and Social Science, Catholic University of Louvain, 2005
• WANNER (H.), LETS vrijwilligerswerk nieuwe stijl: onderzoek naar de eigenheid van LETS ruilkringen, juridische knelpunten en mogelijke oplossingen. Aalter, LETS Flanders not-for-profit association, 2002.

A couple of days later, things got even faster and flashier during “Museum Night Fever“. Until deep into the night, people came in to watch and listen to the performance of a group of INSAS students. Every half hour, they brought live VJ performances based on money. We saw fast-moving, brightly-coloured images on big screens and on walls, accompanied by entrancing music. A completely new and original way of looking at the Museum. Afterwards, people could recover their breath by following a short guided tour or by playing a game with the Museum’s staff members.

Pictures of these events in our media gallery.

During the Easter holidays, we again invite all families to (re)discover the Museum in a fun way. Either you can do a hunt, or you can try out the new track!

And also on National Heritage Day, the Museum welcomes you to partake in a very special guided tour. Would you like to meet a real hero? You can if you come and listen to a thrilling tale from our guides, who will tell you the story of a “hero” from our collection or from the Museum. Whether strong or courageous, man or woman, outstanding in spectacular deeds, you will no doubt find out on 22 April!

In order to retrace Victor Hugo’s passage through the National Bank, the former venue for the General Meeting of Shareholders, a room where he actually set foot, is hosting from 8 March to 31 October a little exhibition dedicated to the French writer showcasing, among other things, some authentic items tracing the history linking the French novelist to the city of Brussels and the National Bank of Belgium.

Visitors will be able to check out the portfolio of shares in the National Bank held by Victor Hugo. They can then find out what he thought of the style of Henri Beyaert, architect of the Bank’s buildings located on the rue du Bois sauvage. And lastly, various coins dating from the time of the Latin Union (1862-1927), the monetary convention between France, Belgium, Switzerland and Italy, later joined by Greece, are also on show in the Museum as a link with les speeches given by Victor Hugo in favour of setting up the “Etats-Unis d’Europe” (United States of Europe), notably in 1851. A man who had intuition, to say the least!

For those of you who would like more information about the event, go to website www.lesmiserables150.be.

In spring 2011, the European Commission held a contest to design a commemorative coin celebrating the 10th anniversary of euro notes and coins. Citizens of all euro zone countries were invited to submit a design via a specially-created website over a three-week period. A professional jury selected five of the more than 800 designs submitted. Then, each euro zone resident was allowed to vote online for one of the five candidates. Maybe you were one of the 35,000 who voted? Ultimately, voters chose the design of Helmut Andexlonger, a professional Austrian currency designer who garnered 35% of the vote.

the new common commemorative coin (2012)

Helmut Andexlonger’s winning design symbolises the role of the euro in everyday life (represented by the people in the design) and its worldwide success over the past 10 years (the globe with the € symbol); it also underlines the importance of the euro in trade (ship), industry (factory) and energy (wind turbines). The new €2 commemorative coin is being issued by all euro zone member countries. Each coin bears the name of the issuing country at the top of the design. Below the image are the dates 2002-2012.

This is the third time that all of the euro zone countries have issued a common commemorative coin. The first appeared in March 2007 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome. The second commonly issued commemorative coin was minted in January 2009 to mark the 10th anniversary of Economic and Monetary Union and the introduction of the euro as a scriptural currency. These commemorative coins have a value of €2 and may be used throughout the euro zone. Around 90 million of these new coins were issued.

earlier commonly issued commemorative coins

Alongside these commemorative coins, each euro zone country may issue a national €2 commemorative coin once a year. Individual countries, rather than the European Central Bank, are responsible for designing and issuing euro coins. When a euro zone country wants to issue a new design, such as a commemorative coin, it must notify the European Commission and the other European Union member states. Only €2 coins may be used for commemorative purposes, and they have the same characteristics and the same reverse side as the usual €2 coins; the national obverse side is used for the commemorative theme. These coins are legal tender throughout the euro zone and typically honour a historical event or a current event of historical importance. The first commemorative coin was issued by Greece in 2004 to mark the Athens Olympic Games. Furthermore, within each euro zone member state, the rule is that commemorative coins may only be issued once a year. However, in exceptional cases countries may mint a second coin, but only if the coin is issued jointly and commemorates an event important to the entire euro zone.

Like most euro zone countries, Belgium has also issued a few commemorative coins. The first, in 2005, paid tribute to the Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union, which is why the coin bears the likenesses of King Albert II and Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg. Another coin commemorated the reopening of the Atomium in 2006 and featured an image of the famous landmark. The third, in 2008, celebrated – like many other countries – the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The following year, the fourth heralded the 200th anniversary of the birth of Louis Braille, and in 2010 a special coin celebrated Belgium’s EU Council presidency. The most recent commemorative coin featured two women: Isala Van Diest and Marie Popelin, respectively the first female physician and the first female lawyer in Belgium, chosen to mark 100 years of International Women’s Day.

Belgian commemorative coins

In addition to the commonly and nationally issued commemorative coins, there are also some atypical coins with a face value different from those in regular circulation. For example, the Netherlands has issued nine €5 coins and three €10 coins. These coins are also legal tender, but only in the issuing country. Lastly, certain countries have made collector’s pieces available for sale. One striking example is the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra coin, with a value of €100,000. However, these coins are not accepted as a means of payment.

GREET DE LATHAUWER
Museum Guide

Bibliography

• MALVOISIN (J.). “10 jaar en 2 euro”, in: Connect, Personeelsblad van de Nationale Bank van België, oktober 2011, p. 8.
• “10 jaar euro. Ontwerpwedstrijd voor herdenkingsmunt”, Eurocoin Competition, Brussel, 2011.
• In: http://www.eurocoin-competition.eu/nl/home, consulted on: 01-12-2011.
• “De Euro”, Europese Commissie Economische & Financiële Zaken, Brussel, 2011.
• In: http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/euro/index_nl.htm, consulted on: 01-12-2011.
• “Euromunten”, Europese Centrale Bank, Frankfurt am Main, 2007.
• In: http://www.ecb.int/euro/coins/html/index.nl.html, consulted on: 01-12-2011.

On the 3th of March, Museum Night Fever will be braving the wintry weathers once again to offer you a wild night! 24 Brussels museums and over 500 young people have let their creativity run free to concoct a seismic programme for you: pop/rock/folk concerts, games, installations, dance, performances and a lot discoveries. Nothing will be left out! An excellent opportunity to explore the Museum of the National Bank of Belgium in a very entertaining way.

What is on the menu that night at number 10, rue du Bois Sauvage ?

•  The interactive live VJ performance ‘It’s all about money!’ by students of the Brussels art schools INSAS and ARBA who will allure you in their artistic universe.
•  Guided tours along the highlights of the permanent collection by the museumteam.
•  The Belgian short film ‘Le commando des pièces-à-trous’, directed by Pierrot De Heusch and starring amongst others Michel Galabru.

You can buy your MNF Pass in advance at the counter of the Museum. Prices up to and including 2/3: €8; on Saturday 3/3: € 12.

1 Pass = 24 museums + STIB shuttle.

 www.museumnightfever.be

The newest 2-euro commemorative coin commemorates ten years of euro banknotes and coins (2002 – 2012).

Ten years ago, on 1 January 2002, euro banknotes and coins were introduced in 12 Member States of the European Union. Five more Member States have adopted the euro in recent years, so a total of 17 Member States now use the currency.

The design of the new coin is the result of a competition that was open to citizens from all euro area countries. It symbolises the way in which the euro has become a true global player over the past ten years, as well as its importance in day-to-day life, with various aspects being depicted: people, trade, industry and energy.  

The new 2-euro commemorative coin is jointly issued by all 17 euro countries. So far, there are three commemorative coins that the euro countries have issued jointly.

The coin is available to the public through the normal channels, including the counters of the National Bank of Belgium in Brussels or at one of its branches.

97 musées de la Communauté flamande et de Bruxelles ouvrent ainsi leurs portes de manière originale du samedi 18 au dimanche 26 février inclus, avec une approche spécialement destinée à un public d’enfants (6-9 ans). Si l’initiative est néerlandophone (www.krokuskriebels.be), le Musée de la Banque nationale la propose dans les deux langues du pays afin d’inciter un maximum de familles à rentrer dans l’univers mystérieux de l’argent.

Les enfants pourront se mettre à la place du gouverneur de la BNB et prendre les commandes de la Banque, mais aussi faire montre de leurs talents de dessinateurs pour réaliser de nouvelles pièces de monnaie tout en jouant au détective à travers les salles du musée… L’entrée et la participation à l’évènement sont gratuits. Alors, pourquoi hésiter?

At the end of the Ancien Régime, France was in the grips of a major financial crisis. The people were starving, the public deficit was enormous and the kingdom was virtually bankrupt. The Revolution did not help. It was in this dire economic context that the assignat was created. In 1789, the French King Louis XVI convened the Estates-General with a view to finding a way out of the crisis. This meeting of the French estates of the realm produced a National Constituent Assembly, a body tasked with finding a way to relieve the public debt burden. This Assembly decided to abolish the Ancien Régime’s tax system, regarded as the people’s oppressor. At the time, there were many different taxes levied very unequally, leading to general unrest and eventually revolt.

Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, then the Bishop of Autun and later diplomat and politician, put forward a suggestion: why not nationalise church property? This extensive stock of real estate mainly consisted of buildings and farm properties with a total value estimated at 2 or 3 billion livres. So, the National Assembly decided to auction off the property seized from the church. The idea was quite simple: people wanting to buy this property now deemed to belong to the nation could only do so in exchange for assignats that they had to acquire beforehand. The assignats were similar to bonds issued by the Treasury. The value of this paper currency is mortgaged on or “assignée” (ascribed) to these national domains. This arrangement enabled money to come straight into the State’s coffers thanks to loans from private individuals particuliers earning interest at 5% and without having to wait for the actual sale of the property.

From January 1792, assignats were issued in either sols or sous (1 livre = 20 sous).

Production of assignats started in December 1789. An Extraordinary Chest (Caisse de l’extraordinaire) was established and given the responsibility of issuing this paper money and collecting the proceeds from selling property confiscated from the church. An initial print run of assignats was worth 400 million livres. The first assignats were in livres and in large denominations too (200, 300 and 1000 livres), which made them difficult to use for other transactions. Once the assignats came back into the hands of the State, it was imperative for them to be destroyed. From their inception, this bank notes were the subject of much debate in the National Assembly. Some deputies were worried that too many assignats were being put into circulation in relation to the value of the national property. This anxiety was heightened following the bankruptcy of Law…

From 1795 onwards, assignats were denominated in francs (a new monetary unit which replaced the livre)

On 17 April 1790, the government, which was still short of cash, declared an emergency exchange rate for the assignat, and the interest was cut from 5% to 3% before being scrapped altogether. This is how it became genuine paper money. On top of that, the State was no longer destroying the assignats that it was getting back. Jacques Necker, Minister of Finance and fervent opponent of the paper money, disapproved of these decisions and handed in his resignation in September. But the Assembly and the government were not giving up and started printing even more assignats. In a bid to shore up the assignat, the government took action such as obliging merchants to accept this paper currency and prohibiting any conversion of the assignat into precious metal. Another problem with this paper money is that it is easy to forge. England, one of France’s main enemies at the time, would forge counterfeit notes with a view to confusing the French, who were soon confronted with false assignats coming in left, right and centre. The whole system quickly started spiralling out of control and the French State had to issue even more notes to make up for the heavy costs of the war that began in 1792 against Austria. This war marked the beginning of a long series of international crises between revolutionary France and the rest of Europe.

With such an abundance of assignats, France was faced with a hyperinflation crisis. Between 1790 and 1793 alone, the assignat lost 60% of its value. In the space of seven years, the Revolution multiplied the country’s money supply by twenty. Faced with this proliferation of assignats, the church property put at the nation’s disposal could no longer guarantee their value and this led to further depreciation of these banknotes. In 1796, the total amount of assignats had reached 45 billion livres, while the estimated worth of the clergy property was only 2 to 3 billion. These banknotes had become worthless in a inflationary context. In February 1796, having lost all their value, the assignats along with their banknote plates were burned symbolically in the Place Vendôme by the Directoire which replaced them with a new note called the mandat territorial. This suffered the same fate as the assignats but its depreciation was much faster. One year later, it disappeared too and the coin of the realm made its comeback.

The assignat was supposed to wipe out the public debt, but on the contrary, it only made the financial crisis worse. The paper currency was not a flop for everyone, though. It not only enabled France to finance the 1792 war effort, but it also offered French peasants a chance to acquire farmland that they would never have been able to obtain otherwise, thanks to the depreciating paper money and the possibility to spread out payment over time.

LAURIE DE MARÉ
MUSEUM GUIDE

Bibliography:

• Florin AFTALION, L’économie de la Révolution française, Quadrige/Presses Universitaires de France, 1996.
• Jean LAFAURIE, Les assignats et les papiers-monnaies émis par l’Etat au XVIIIe siècle, Le Léopard d’Or, Paris, 1981.
• Jean MORINI-COMBY, Les assignats: révolution et inflation, Paris: Nouvelle librairie nationale, 1925.
• Revue “NUMISMATIQUE & change”: Le billet: une collection passionnante à la portée de tous, Seiten 37 bis 43.