Preserving the past and shaping the future
The Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage is the federal scientific institution that documents, studies and preserves Belgium's cultural and artistic heritage.
Discover the new BALaT!
The Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage (KIK-IRPA) launches the renewed version of BALaT, its online collection and knowledge platform providing access to Belgium’s artistic and cultural heritage.
BALaT brings together more than one million images and an exceptional wealth of heritage data within a single digital platform, designed for researchers, conservators, heritage professionals, and anyone interested in art and cultural heritage.
With an improved search experience, enhanced image viewing, and stronger connections between heritage data, BALaT becomes an even more powerful tool to discover, study, and understand Belgian heritage.
Visit balat.kikirpa.be and start exploring our shared artistic heritage.
Our services
Public institutions, but also owners of private collections in Belgium and abroad, can apply to our institution for the conservation, study and documentation of works of art and other heritage objects. You can contact us for:
- Conservation of art works
- Scientific analysis methods and dating techniques
- Photography and scientific imaging
- Art historical research
We share our knowledge and expertise
One of the core tasks of the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage is collecting, archiving and disseminating the scientific research data from all disciplines covered by our experts. We also play a pioneering role in the field of Open Data in the arts and heritage sector. We want to share our knowledge and expertise with the heritage sector and the general public as much as possible.
The restauration of the Ghent Altarpiece
The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb (1432), created by the Van Eyck brothers and kept at Saint Bavo’s Cathedral (Ghent), is considered one of the most important masterpieces of Western European painting.
Since 2012, the painting has undergone research and restoration by the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage (KIK-IRPA). The project is now in its third and final phase: the treatment of the upper panels of the interior of the polyptych (2023-2026).
News from the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage
European exercise tests international cooperation in safeguarding cultural heritage
Ten years ago, it would have been difficult to imagine a European exercise focused on the protection of cultural heritage involving specialised teams from the European Union in the context of a disaster exceeding national response capacities.
Four leading institutions of the Cinquantenaire Park join forces for the future
The four major institutions located in the Cinquantenaire Park – Autoworld Museum Brussels, the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage (KIK-IRPA), the Royal Museums of Art and History (KMKG-MRAH) and the War Heritage Institute (WHI) – have signed a declaration of intent to structurally strengthen their collaboration.