Arenberg Foundation

Report of the meeting of the Scientific comity of the ACA, May 28, 2011

Present: Minister Prof. M. Eyskens (chairman), HSH Prince Leopold of Arenberg, Prof. J. Roegiers, Prof. V. Dujardin, Dr. P. Neu, Mrs. L. Bické, Mr. G. Lernout, Mr. M-W. Serruys (report)

Absent after notifying: HRH Duke of Braganza, HSH Prince Henri of Arenberg, HSH Prince Étienne of Arenberg, Count O. de Luppé, Prof. J. Collins, Prof. J-M. Duvosquel, Prof. L. Mikoletzky, Dr. C. de Moreau de Gerbehaye.

1. The report of the last meeting (June 5, 2010) has been approved.
2. HSH Prince Leopold of Arenberg explained the workings of the newly created Arenberg Foundation (AF).  There are three reasons why the AF was called into existence:
   1. Less formalities, more efficiency.
   2. A vzw (Vereniging zonder winstoogmerk) or an asbl (Association sans but lucratif) have no meaning outside of Belgium.  Being internationally active, the AF needs a structure which is also recognized outside this country.
   3. The new structure not only has the possibility to bring out its activities (conferences, debates, awards, concerts, etc.) towards a larger audience, but it also has the possibility – if necessary – to present the activities of the Studium arenbergensis and the ACA.
3. Dr. Marie Cornaz has been accepted unanimously as one of its new members by the Scientific comity because of her outstanding competences.
4. The directors of the ACA, L. Bické and G. Lernout, and vice-director M-W. Serruys, have given a report of their professional activities from June 2010 to May 2011.  The following activities have been discussed:
   1. Visit of International association of bibliophiles, Enghien, October 2, 2010.
   2. Symposium European Union – Russian Federation, Brussels, November 5, 2010.
   3. Award Duke of Arenberg, Brussels, November 5, 2010.
   4. Concert in the BOZAR, Brussels, December 22, 2010.
   5. Arenberglunch in restaurant le Vieux Cèdre, Enghien, May 28, 2011.
   6. Maintenance of both houses, situated Rue de l’Yser, 6-8, Enghien.
   7. Welcoming and helping researchers in the archives (42 persons in 2011, 46 persons in 2010).
   8. The AF’s website has been consulted 14,352 times between June 1, 2010 and May 31, 2011.  This is an increase of 8% since last year.
   9. The AF’s staff helped several writers with their publication, e.g. La Maison d’Arenberg en Wallonie – Bruxelles – Grand-Duché de Luxembourg.
   10. Participated in organising expositions, e.g. Grote madammen, Ghent).
   11. Restoration and re-organising the archives.
   12. Organising the 1st Arenberg Conference for History in Amsterdam, October 2011.
5. HSH Prince Leopold of Arenberg discussed the AF’s finances.  The costs were extremely high last year (personnel, maintenance, new publications).
6. There are five new books in the pipeline:
   1. Serruys, Michael-W.: The Dukes of Arenberg: Short English synthesis, to be published in December 2011.
   2. Duvosquel, Jean-Marie and Morsa, Denis: La Maison d’Arenberg en Wallonie – Bruxelles – Grand-Duché de Luxembourg: Synthesis of the presence of the House Arenberg in French speaking Belgium and the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg, to be published in autumn 2011, according to Mr. D. Morsa.
   3. Rousseau, Jacques: Robert III de la Marck, Sire de Floranges 1492-1536: biographie, because of personal reasons this publication has been put on hold momentarily.
   4. Brelot, Claude-Isabelle: La Maison d’Arenberg en France: Synthesis of the presence of the House Arenberg in France.  This project has not been started yet.
   5. Mikoletzky, Lorenz: Die Arenberger in der KuK Monarchie: Synthesis of the presence of the House Arenberg in the Habsburg empire.  This project has not been started yet.
7. Mrs. Marie Charles has explained the restoration of several documents from the music archives.  This restoration was made possible thanks to a subsidy given by the Fondation Roi Baudouin.  Marie Charles briefly explained how she took care of these documents.
8. HSH Prince Leopold of Arenberg has given the Coimbra award to Francesco Lubian, University of Padova, May 26, 2011.
9. 300 charts are being restored by Mr. Hofmann, Düsseldorf.
10. Different activities are being prepared by HSH Prince Leopold of Arenberg, e.g.:
    1. A lunch-debate entitled ‘Le fédéralisme suisse’, November 16, 2011.  Pascal Couchepin (former Swiss president in 2003 en 2008) will be invited.
    2. A lunch/diner-debate series is being put together, entitles ‘Soirées russes’.  It is a joint activity with ambassador D. Rogozin (representative of the Russian Federation with the NATO).  The purpose is to bring Russia and the European Union closer to each other.  This event will take place on December 15, 2011.
    3. On November 23, 2012, there will be a symposium European Union – China.
11. It is the aim to organise several Vivaldi-concerts in Paris and Lisbon.  There are perhaps also some possibilities to organise these concerts in Luxembourg and Venice.  Some thoughts should be given to publish a CD with this music.

 

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Minutes of the meeting of the scientific committee of the Arenberg Archives and Cultural Centre (AACC), 5th of June 2010, Enghien/Edingen

Scientific committee:

Present: Minister of State Mark Eyskens (President), H.S.H prince d’Arenberg, Prof. Vincent Dujardin, Prof. Jean-Marie Duvosquel, Dr. de Moreau de Gerbehaye, Mrs Lieve Bické, Mr. Guy Lernout, Directors

Absent: HRH Duke of Bragança, Prince Henry d’Arenberg, Prince Etienne d’Arenberg, Count de Luppé, Prof. J. Collins, Prof. Mikoletzky, Dr. Neu

1. The previous year’s report of May 30th,  2009 is approved.

2.  The AACC Directors, Mrs Lieve Bické and Mr Guy Lernout present their activities for the past year. They give explanations about contacts with visitors, the participation to three exhibitions, the restoration  and classification of books and archives.

3.   Dr. Wolf-Rüdiger Schleidgen has resigned from the committee for professional reasons.

4.   Prince d’Arenberg explains the financial situation of the AACC

5.    Activities and projects

• La Maison d’Arenberg et la musique : the book of Dr. Marie Cornaz is ready and should be published in the coming weeks by Brepols. A CD project is under discussion.
• La Maison d’Arenberg dans les anciens Pays-Bas, Belgique romane et Grand-Duché de Luxembourg : Professor Jean-Marie Duvosquel and Mr Denis Morsa are bringing to an end the search for illustrations and work on the index.  The book is going to be published in the fall 2010 or in the spring 2011.
• Prince d’Arenberg informs about the book of Mr. Jacques Rousseau concerning “Robert III de La Marck, Sire de Floranges 1492-1536”.
• La Maison d’Arenberg en France : Professor Claude-Isabelle Brelot gives explanations about the progress made by historians working on the book.
• History Prizes “Duke d’Arenberg” : the Prizes will be awarded on Friday, November 5th in the Palace of Academies, Brussels. At that occasion, the Arenberg Foundation, Enghien will organize a Symposium  “Russian Federation – Europe, a partnership for the future ?” in collaboration with the Universities of Leuven, of Louvain and the Belgian-Russian Chamber of commerce. Russian Ambassador to NATO Dimitri Rogozine will make a speech. There will be an exhibition jointly organized by the Arenberg Foundation, the Royal Belgian National Archives (AGRB) and the University of Leuven.
• Arenberg-Coimbra : the Prize for European Excellency has been awarded to the laureate in Brussels on June the 3d
• The musical ensemble La Cetra d’Orfeo will give a concert on Sunday 13 of June, 11 am in Bornem and will play some pieces coming from the archives of the Dukes d’Arenberg.
• Old parchments from the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation and the XVII Provinces will be restored in collaboration with the Arenberg Foundation, Essen, the Archives of North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinat.
• The Arenberg Foundation, Enghien and the ‘Société des Bibliophiles François’ will join forces to publish in Paris a remarkable document dating from the early 13th century about the crusades; this document has already been studied by the famous French medieval specialist, Philippe Contamine

6. Varia: nothing  

The President thanks Prince d’Arenberg, the Directors of AACC and all the members of the committee. Next meeting will take place on Saturday, May 28th 2011.

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Minutes of the meeting of the scientific committee of the Arenberg Archives and Cultural Centre (AACC), 30th of May 2009, Enghien-Edingen

Scientific committee :

Present:

Minister of State, Prof. Dr. Mark Eyskens (president)
H.S.H Prince Leopold d’Arenberg
Prof. Dr. James Collins
Prof. Jean-Marie Duvosquel
Dr. Claude de Moreau de Gerbehaye
Prof. Dr. Jan Roegiers

Mrs. Lieve Bické
Mr. Guy Lernout
Mrs. Sara Roegiers

Absent:

H.R.H Duke of Bragança
H.S.H Prince Henri d’Arenberg
H.S.H. Prince Etienne d’Arenberg
Dr. W-R Schleidgen
Dr. Peter Neu
Count Olivier de Luppé
Prof. Dr. Mikoletzky

1. The previous year’s report of 10 May 2008 is approved
2. H.S.H. Prince Leopold d’Arenberg briefly discusses the financial situation of the AACC. Expenses are on the rise: the enlargement of the staff, the maintenance of the buildings, the conservation of precious pieces and the iconographic collection. Nevertheless, the situation remains financially healthy. The situation of the Capuchin monastery in Enghien becomes a matter of discussion. The family would buy the historical part of the property if the Walloon Region would classify the building as historical monument. Prof. Duvosquel proposes to seek information on the apparent ‘status quo’ of the classification file.
3. Appointment of new members: the candidacy of Prof Vincent Dujardin, UCL, is unanimously approved by the committee. The Duke of Bragança asks to become an associate member.
4. Sara Roegiers presents her current activities:

• new website, presented in 4 languages;
• conservation of the photographic collection;
• book project: about the history of the dukes d’Arenberg in English. There are texts at hand but they have to be edited. The illustrations should be numerous and accompanied by their own text, so as to complement the main text. A historical map of Europe should also be added..

5. Hans Baeté presents his book about the history of the forests of Heverlee and Meerdaal, “Miradal”, due to appear in the fall of 2009.
6. Marquis de Trazegnies presents, “Le Lis et le Sanglier”, with great erudition. It is a book about the Principality of Liège and the family de la Marck in the 15th Century, which was researched by Prince Leopold and has been presented in Sedan, Liège and Paris.
7. Marie Cornaz presents her book “La Maison d’Arenberg et la Musique”, to appear in 2009. At the present moment, illustrations are being collected. The audio CD is close to completion, the pieces have been chosen, among others : Vivaldi, Nicola Porpora and Händel. Certain pieces were discovered anew, having been forgotten for centuries. The musicians are Dolce et Tempesta; singers are: Stefano Demichelli, Roberta Invernizzi, Marina De Liso.
8. Books to be published:

• Prof. Duvosquel and D. Morsa present the latest news regarding “La Maison d’Arenberg dans les anciens Pays-Bas, Belgique Romane et Grand-Duché de Luxembourg”. Almost all texts are finished. Next step: looking for illustrations.
• Last status regarding the book by Prof. Brelot: Dr. Bertrand Goujon will write several chapters. A meeting will take place with Professor Dr. Mikoletzky in Vienna on june 26th about the book about ‘Arenberg in der K.u.K Monarchie’

9. The Arenberg-Coimbra Prize will be awarded on the 4th of June to a Danish student, by Prince Leopold d’Arenberg. There were 18 candidates this year.
10. The annual reports of the activities of Guy Lernout and Lieve Bické, directors of the AACC are presented by Guy Lernout
11. Varia

• Plan: a colloquium on Russia. Contact the “Gorbachev Foundation”?
• A series “The great Houses of Europe” with an editor from USA and a conference in Georgetown.
• Agenda: next meeting: Saturday 5th of June 2010.

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Minutes of the 10th May 2008 meeting of the scientific committee of the Arenberg Archives and Cultural Centre (AACC), Enghien/Edingen

Scientic committee :

Present :

Minister of State, Prof. Dr. Mark Eyskens (president)
Prof. Dr. Jan Roegiers
Prof. Jean-Marie Duvosquel
Dr. Claude de Moreau de Gerbehaye
Dr. Peter Neu
Mrs. Lieve Bické npo
Mr. Guy Lernout npo
Mrs. Sara Roegiers npo

H.S.H Prince Leopold d’Arenberg
H.S.H Prince Henry d’Arenberg

Apologies :

H.R.H Duke of Bragança
Prof . James Collins
Dr. W-R Schleidgen
Dr. Peter Neu
Comte Olivier de Luppé

1. The previous year’s report of 12 May 2007 is approved
2. The annual reports of the activities of Guy Lernout and Lieve Bické, directors of the AACC are presented by Guy Lernout
3. H.S.H Prince Leopold briefly describes the financial situation and assures the members of the committee that funding is sufficient to support all activities ; H.S.H Prince Henry puts again the sponsoring to discussion.
4. Sara Roegiers presents the projects she is taking care of, namely : new presentation of the website, photographic collection, other works of art
5.  Publications :
1.  Dr. Marie Cornaz informs about her book : ‘The House of Arenberg and the Music’ she  plans to write for a broad public in collaboration with the Royal Academy of Art of  Belgium.
2. Prof. Duvosquel and Dr. Denis Morsa inform about their book : ‘The
        House of Arenberg in the Old Netherlands, Wallonia and Luxemburg’.
   
3. H.S.H Prince Leopold refers about the progress of the publications of Mr Jacques Rousseau, Prof. Claude-Isabelle Brelot and Marquis de Trazegnies. Marquis de Trazegnies is going to publish about Willem de La Marck-Arenberg, 1445-1485, in the fall 2008.
   
6. The Arenberg Prizes for History 2008 are going to be awarded on September 19th in the Palais des Académies, Brussels. Baron Frans Van Daele, Belgian Ambassador to NATO is going to give a conference about the Transatlantic Link, USA-Europe.
   
7. H.S.H Prince Leopold has awarded the Arenberg Coimbra Prize in Brugge on May 5th. The Prize winner is a young Finnish student who wrote about the ‘Communità Sant’Egidio’.
   
8. Website : see www.arenbergfoundation.eu
   
9. Varia

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Minutes of the 12th May 2007 meeting of the scientific committee of the Arenberg Archives and Cultural Centre (AACC), Enghien/Edingen

Scientific committee:

Present:
Minister of State, Prof. Dr. Mark Eyskens (president)
Prof. Dr. Jan Roegiers
Prof. Jean-Marie Duvosquel
Dr. Claude de Moreau de Gerbehaye
Dr. Peter Neu
H.S.H Prince Leopold d’Arenberg
H.S.H Prince Henry d’Arenberg
Mrs. Lieve Bické, A.C.A npo
M. Guy Lernout, A.C.A npo

Apologies:
H.R.H the Duke de Bragance
Prince de Broglie
Prof. Jim Collins

1. The previous year’s report of 27th May 2006 was approved

2. The annual reports of the activities of Guy Lernout and Lieve Bické, directors of the AA.CC were presented by Mr. Lernout and Mrs. Bické.

3. Prince Leopold d’Arenberg briefly described the financial situation of the AA.CC npo. H.S.H Prince Henry puts the sponsoring to discussion and suggests to organize concerts based on the Arenberg musical archives.

4. Prince de Broglie having resigned from the committee, Prince Leopold proposes the candidacy of Count Olivier de Luppé, Archives privées françaises. The committee accepts the proposal and thanks Count de Luppé for his availability.

5. Hans Baeté, researcher for the Flemish Community, gives a short conference (in English) about ‘ A history of the Meerdael and Heverlee forests’. A book about the two forests, sponsored by the ‘Davidsfonds’(Leuven), will be published end of 2008, beginning of 2009.

6. Books to be published
6.1 Prof. Duvosquel et Dr. Denis Morsa inform the committee about the book ‘ La Maison d’Arenberg dans les anciens Pays-Bas, Belgique romane et Grand-Duché de Luxembourg’. The book is ready ; what is still missing is the iconography. To be published somewhere in spring 2008. Information about the antique vase collection from the Arenberg palace has been discovered and the book will refer to it in one chapter.
6.2 Dr. Marie Cornaz prepares a book about ‘ the House d’Arenberg and music’. She speaks about her project ‘ Vivaldi concerts’, based on her discoveries in the archives.
6.3 Dr. Peter Neu presents his monumental work ‘Die Arenberger Frauen’ (380 pages) to the committee. This book was presented in Kerpen (Eifel) on September 9th, 2006. Dr. Neu is praised by his fellow members.
6.4 Prince Leopold summarizes the advancement of the projects of Jacques Rousseau, Prof. Claude-Isabelle Brelot, Marquis de Trazegnies.

7 Prince Henry explains the philosophy behind the new cultural project ‘Arenberg summer festival’. A prerequisite would be the involvement at an early stage of cities and cultural associations to make it happen.

8 Arenberg Coimbra prize : on May 31st, the first prize will be awarded in Turku (Finland). There were nine candidates for the prize, what can be considered a success. Prince Leopold will attend the first ceremony.

9 The website becomes more and more popular. Improvements and suggestions are welcome.

10 Varia
10.1 The president reads a letter from a project manager of the ‘Musée de l’Europe’ where he states that a cooperation with AA.CC is still considered.
10.2 Prizes ‘duke d’Arenberg’ 2008 and conference : discussion under way
10.3 Dr. Claude de Moreau de Gerbehaye gives some information about the progress made at the Belgian State Archives in regard to the classification of the Arenberg Archive Fund in Brussels (see French or Dutch versions for more details).

 

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Minutes of the 27th May 2006 meeting of the scientific committee of the Arenberg Archives and Cultural Centre, Edingen.

Scientific committee

Present:

Government Minister, Prof. Dr. Mark Eyskens (president)
Prof. Jim Collins, Georgetown University, Washington D.C
Dr. Claude de Moreau of Gerbehaye, AGRB
Prof. Dr. Jan Roegiers, K.U.Leuven
Dr. Wolf-Rüdiger Schleidgen, NRW Staatsarchiv

H.S.H Prince Leopold d’Arenberg
H.S.H Prince Etienne d’Arenberg
Mrs. Lieve Bické, A.C.A npo
M. Guy Lernout, A.C.A npo

Apologies:

H.R.H the Duke de Bragance, Prince de Broglie, Prof. Duvosquel, Dr. Neu

1. The previous year’s report of 28th May 2005 was approved

2. The annual report of the activities of Guy Lernout and Lieve Bické, directors of the A.C.A npo, was presented by Madame Bické (see appendix 1)

3. H.S.H Prince Leopold d’Arenberg briefly described the financial situation of the A.C.A npo. The association’s sponsors are the Studium Arenbergense npo, the town of Enghien and the House d’Arenberg. The 2006 accounts only concern the running costs excluding exceptional expenses such as archive restoration and the publication of works.

4. Dr. Claude de Moreau gave a breakdown of the state of the Arenberg Collection, viewable at the AGRB (State Archives) in Brussels. The inventory was carried out on various occasions (Laloire, Sabbe, Coosemans, Vanrie) and is not coherent. For the moment, everything is described and secured. The administration of the possessions is carried out from Brussels. Three quarters of the Arenberg Archives are held in Belgium while the rest is scattered over several European countries. A discussion took place on the collaboration between European and American universities and the American support being given for the study of private collections which is to carried out by students paid piece-rate. It is still to be decided how this idea is to be implemented. Prince Leopold is to make contact with Prof. Jim Collins, Dr. Claude de Moreau, Prof. Roegiers and Dr. Schleidgen on the subject.

5. Books

5.1 M. Denis Morsa spoke about ‘The House of Arenberg in the Ancient Netherlands, Roman Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg’: the first part has been completed and consists of a translation of ‘Arenberg in de lage landen, Holland en Vlaanderen’, completed and updated by M. Morsa. The second part which deals with the history of the possessions is still to be finished. The third part has been completed. The iconography remains. Publication date : 2007

5.2 M. Jacques Rousseau being absent, Prince Leopold d’Arenberg presented the progress on his manuscript ‘The House of the Marck of Arenberg 1390-1592’ the first part of which is expected to be published in 2007.

5.3 Dr. Neu’s ‘Die Arenberger Frauen’, a fine work of 380 pages, will appear in the course of the summer and will be presented at Kerpen (Eifel) at the beginning of September.

5.4 The progress made on the works of professors Mikoletzky and Brelot was briefly mentioned.

6. Dr. Marie Cornaz has carried out a new inventory of the musical archives of the A.C.A npo. This inventory has been published in the Belgian Review of Musicology. She is preparing a presentation for a conference which will take place in Gothenburg and is working on her manuscript ‘Music and the House of Arenberg’. The A.C.A web site makes the details of the inventory available to the public and scores can be ordered directly.

7. A new cultural project, ‘Arenberg zomers’ initiated by Prince Henri d’Arenberg, could be initiated at the chateau of Heverlee. It would be a collaboration between the town of Leuven and the Catholic University of Leuven.

8. A new Arenberg-Coimbra prize will be awarded to a student of the Coimbra group, as part of the Erasmus programme, starting in 2007. The Coimbra group brings together 37 European universities and the prize is the result of a partnership between the A.C.A npo and the Coimbra group. The prize will be awarded every year, in a European country, from 2007. Professor Guido Langouche is the ‘spiritus rector’ of the project, initiated by the government minister Mark Eyskens.

9. Website : www.arenbergcenter.com is adapted according to needs and circumstances. This web site, needing a lot of work, is a way of developing new contacts. All remarks and observations are welcome.

10. Arenberg Prize: the prize-giving ceremony will take place at the Palace of the Academies in Brussels, Wednesday 13th September, 5pm; the President of the European Commission, Dr. José Manuel Barroso, will give a speech on ‘The Future of Europe’. There will also be a small exhibition organised by the AGRB, the K.U.Leuven and the A.C.A npo.

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Minutes of the meeting on the 28th of May 2005 of the Scientific and Academic committee of the AACC not for profit association.

Present: Viscount Minister Prof. M. Eyskens (chairman), H.S.H. Prince Leopold d’ Arenberg, H.S.H. Prince Henri d’Arenberg, H.S.H. Prince Etienne d’Arenberg, Prof. C.-I. Brelot, Prof. J. Roegiers, Dr. C. de Moreau de Gerbehaye, Prof. J.-M. Duvosquel, Dr. P. Neu, Lieve Bické and Guy Lernout (minutes)

1. The minutes of the previous meeting dated the 8th of May 2004 were approved.

2. The annual report written by Lieve Bické and Guy Lernout, directors of the AACC, was commented by the last mentioned (see appendix 1)
In reaction to the first point, the chairman expressed the wish that the number of graduates could further increase before the presentation of their dissertations and that of doctoral candidates also increase before the presentation of their theses. A discussion followed about the accessibility of the archives. The meeting reached an important decision: before visiting, each candidate must give a precise description of her/his research and the documents to be consulted.

3. H.S.H. Prince Leopold d’Arenberg briefly discussed the AACC's financial situation. The AACC's sponsors are: the Studium Arenbergense, the city Edingen, the Arenberg Stiflung and the Arenberg family. There is still some finance available for a few projects.

4. Books pending

4.1. Prof. Duvosquel and Dr. D. Morsa on the publication of “La Maison d'Arenberg dans les anciens Pays-Bas, Belgique romane et Grand-Duché de Luxembourg”. The first part – a translation of chapters from “Arenberg in de Lage Landen” - has been type set and revised by D. Morsa. The first part is thus completely finished. Some contributions to the second part -the history of the crown lands – are still awaited. D. Morsa has filled in a significant lacuna: he has written an important article about “the principality of Liège”. D. Morsa has also proofread all the articles contributed for the second part He will finish his work in autumn 2006.

4.2. Mr. Jacques Rousseau was absent due to illness. He has finished a manuscript of around 80 pages.

4.3. Dr. P. Neu on “Die Arenberger Frauen”: There are 27 contributions in total. The final date for the delivery of the manuscripts has been postponed for a year. 11 contributions are still awaited at present. The book will be published next year.

4.4. Prof. C.-I. Brelot on “La Maison d'Arenberg en France”: We have not made much progress with this book yet. We know that Bertrand Goujon, a young doctoral candidate, will take care of some important contributions.

4.5. Dr. Marie Cornaz has finished a new inventory of the AACC's music archive (120 pages). This will appear in the ‘Revue belge de Musicologie’. At the moment she is preparing a lecture which she will give during the Colloquium in Paris. She also wants to publish a book on this subject. She has spoken to some publishers about it. Will the ‘Universitaire Pers Leuven’ be the final publisher? The following questions were asked: Would publishing some scores as well be a good idea? (There is a demand for it). Can we get any support from the King Baldwin foundation for this? Finally, will a special committee promote Dr. Marie Cornaz's book?

5. New projects

5.1. Website: www.arenbergcenter.com is finished. Nice website, which will be subject to a few adjustments. Comments are still welcome.

5.2. Museum of Europe: The president contacted Mrs. Spaak. There are two possibilities for the AACC: there could either a gallery or a wall display dedicated to the House of Arenberg. A temporary exhibition is another possibility.

5.3. Edingen Museum: Sadly nothing is moving.

5.4. Duke d’Arenberg -prizes for 2006 will be presented in the Arenberg/Egmont palace in Brussels with a conference , the presentation of Prof. Duvosquel's book and a small exhibition (in cooperation with the National Archives Belgium and the Catholic University of Leuven).

5.5. Arenberg-prize for Europe: The chairman thinks it is a good idea, although there are already a lot of prizes. 25,000 EUROs is a minimum at this level. The chairman proposed awarding a prize for young people, for instance students who join the Erasmus project. 12,500 EUROs seems a nice prize for a deserving student. Minister Eyskens is prepared to work out a more concrete proposal.

6. Varia: Prince Henri d’Arenberg says that the historical festival in Aremberg, Eifel, was a success. 500 to 600 people were present. Pictures of the festival can be seen on the website.

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Minutes of the meeting of the Scientific Committee of the Foundation
Arenberg Archives and Cultural Centre (AACC) on 8th May 2004

Present: HSH Prince Leopold d'Arenberg, HSH Prince Henry d'Arenberg, HSH Prince Etienne d'Arenberg, Viscount Mark Eyskens (Chairman), Minister of State and former Prime Minister, Prof. J. Roegiers, Prof. J.-M. Duvosquel, Dr. C. de Moreau de Gerbehaye, Mr. Yves Delannoy, Mr. Guy Lernout as well as guests.
1. The minutes of the previous meeting on 31st May 2003 were approved.

2. Mr. Guy Lernout, director of the AACC, presented its annual report .

The Chairman said that the report and the work of the directors of the AACC, Mrs. Lieve Bické and Mr. Guy Lernout, were very positive. He proposed to post the text of the report on the Arenberg website.

The Chairman regretted that there were no dissertations for a university licence, based on the ducal records for the following year. He suggested that the professors present should compile a list of 5 topics which were worthy of attention by academia. There was also a discussion of the copies and photographs (digital) of old documents, replies to letters and emails and the searches needed to satisfy visitors.

3. HSH Prince Leopold of Arenberg explained the financial situation of the ACA. It had succeeded in obtaining financial support from the town of Enghien, the Studium Arenbergense asbl, the German Arenberg Foundation and the Arenberg family. New sponsors or patrons are still being sought. Under consideration are: the universities, the Fondation Roi Baudouin [King Baudouin Foundation], major institutions, the tourist sector, the European Parliament, etc.

4. Prof. Duvosquel and Mr. Morsa briefed the Committee on the book which was in preparation - "La Maison d'Arenberg dans les anciens Pays-Bas, Belgique romane et Grand-Duché de Luxembourg" [The House of Arenberg in the ancient Netherlands, Roman Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg]. The first part is ready. The second part, the history of the estates, is moving forward but there are difficulties. The iconography is different from the edition for Dutch speakers. Mr. Morsa had read all the drafts that had been sent to him and he had also revised the bibliography.

5. Mrs. Marie Cornaz explained - passionately - her project for the classification of the partitions of the Arenberg collection and her outline programme of work. She briefed Committee members on her task. The Chairman referred to this as a "fascinating and very important" task.

6. Mr. Jacques Rousseau, honorary Chairman of the Society for the History of Sedan, reported (with his usual enthusiasm) on his planned work dedicated to "L'Histoire de la Maison de La Marck" [The history of the House de La Marck].

7. HSH Prince Leopold d'Arenberg reported to the Scientific Committee on the potential collaboration of the AACC with the Museum of Europe, Brussels.

8. HSH Prince Henry briefed the Committee on a new project. This was to be an "historic festival" at Aremberg in the Eifel on 12th September 2004. Details would follow.