Mechelen (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Starting September 1, 2025, Mechelen’s historic Court of Savoy, once home to Margaret of Austria, will partially open to the public, ahead of Margaret Year 2030 celebrations.
As VRT News reported, starting in September 2025, some parts of the Court of Savoy in Mechelen, also called Margaret of Austria’s Palace, will be open for the public to visit. Today, Aug 6, 2025, the building is used as a courthouse.
“This building is perhaps the most important building in Flanders, because Margaret of Austria governed from here and raised Emperor Charles,”
says Mayor Bart Somers (For Mechelen).
What parts of Mechelen’s court of Savoy open Sept 1?
The Court of Savoy in Mechelen has not been open to the public for many years. It is still used as a courthouse, so the main gate on Keizerstraat stayed closed for safety reasons. Many people want to visit the building because it is old and special. Judge Suzy Vanhoonacker said that tourists often ask to see it, but visits were not allowed before. In September 2025, some parts of the building will open for visitors.
The city of Mechelen, the Buildings Agency, and the Federal Department of Justice have agreed to let people visit part of the Court of Savoy. The building will stay a courthouse, but security doors will be added inside.
These doors will keep the public areas and court areas apart. From September 1st, 2025, people can visit these parts freely. The gate on Keizerstraat will be painted, and the garden will get new plants in autumn.
“The gate on Keizerstraat will reopen, allowing you to enter the Renaissance garden and the throne room,”
says Greet Geypen (Voor Mechelen), alderman for monuments, tourism, and heritage.
Mechelen is getting ready for Margaret Year in 2030. This will mark 500 years since Margaret of Austria died. She was one of the most powerful women of her time. The city wants to open more rooms in the palace for visitors. These include her bedroom and library, which are still closed now.
Officials mentioned that these spaces will help tell the full story of her life and why the building is so important. By opening more parts of the Court of Savoy, Mechelen wants to make it a special place where people can learn about history.
Mechelen Court of Savoy was built in the early 1500s and is known as the first Renaissance building north of the Alps. At that time, America had just been discovered, and ideas like humanism were starting to spread across Europe. The palace was the home of Margaret of Austria, who governed the Habsburg Netherlands, and it became a place where important political and cultural decisions were made.
