The Waterloo Local History Museum

Waterloo, from Victor Hugo to the ABBA Group: a household name!

On the first floor of the Waterloo Tourism offices, discover this museum that will take you back through the history of the town, from prehistory to the 21st century.
Admission is free.

The village, first mentioned in 1145, grew up in a clearing in the Forêt de Soignes. Crossed by the « Chemin des Wallons » (Walloon Way), leading from Brussels to the south of the country, it was renowned from the 17th century onwards for the quality of its paving.

But it was the famous battle of 18 June 1815 that made Waterloo internationally famous. Victor Hugo glorified the event in his famous novel Les Misérables, the writing of which he completed in Waterloo in 1861. The poet is mentioned several times in the museum through original documents.

The office once occupied by King Leopold III at the Château d’Argenteuil, the royal residence in Waterloo, was a gift from the royal family to the town and has been faithfully reconstructed; it is now on display in this museum.