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Museum · Mons, Hainaut
Mundaneum
The archive created by Paul Otlet and Henri La Fontaine to classify all the world's knowledge on paper cards, now seen as a precursor to the internet. It is housed in a former department store from the 1930s.
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
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About Mundaneum
In 1895, Belgian lawyers Paul Otlet and Henri La Fontaine began an ambitious project: gathering and classifying all the published knowledge in the world. They created a universal decimal classification and a card repertory that grew to over 12 million cards. The project was named Palais Mondial and later Mundaneum, and occupied part of the Palais du Cinquantenaire in Brussels.
In the 1930s Otlet envisioned a network of 'electric telescopes' to consult documents remotely, using cards and telegraph, decades before the computer. For that reason the Mundaneum is seen as a precursor to the internet and to projects like Wikipedia. Henri La Fontaine received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1913.
The archive moved several times and lost part of its material during the German occupation in World War II. Since 1998 it has been in Mons, in a building that was a department store in the 1930s, on rue de Nimy. The archive was inscribed on UNESCO's Memory of the World Register in 2013.
The visit shows the filing furniture, posters, documents and temporary exhibitions about information, pacifism and early-20th-century feminism, topics that interested the founders.
Before you go
Practical information
Cidade Turismo reviews its information regularly, but something may have changed. Check with the place before planning your trip.
How much time to set aside
From 1 hour to 1h30.
Best time
Open Wednesday through Sunday; the museum is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. On weekdays it closes for lunch. On weekends it is open all day. Check the opening hours before you go.
How to get there
It is on rue de Nimy, about a 5-minute walk from the Grand-Place and about 15 minutes from Gare de Mons.
Tip
See the permanent exhibition before the temporary one: it explains the card system and the decimal classification, which is still used in libraries. A good option for a rainy day.
Official website
Get your questions answered
Frequently asked questions about Mundaneum
Why is the Mundaneum called the 'paper Google'?
Because Paul Otlet and Henri La Fontaine tried to organize all knowledge into millions of classified index cards and answered questions sent by mail, a search service before the computer.
What days is it open?
Open Wednesday to Sunday. Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays and on some year-end holidays. Check before you go.
Does the visit have texts in English?
Exhibitions usually have texts also in English. Check at the ticket office if there is an audio guide or guided tour in that language.
Who were the founders?
Paul Otlet, considered one of the fathers of modern documentation, and Henri La Fontaine, a Belgian lawyer and senator, Nobel Peace Prize laureate in 1913.