A museum is sometimes the result of a link between friendship, common passion, and listening to each other.

The genesis of the Jules Destrée Museum illustrates these words during the different steps of its creation.

Jules Destrée dies in 1936, his wife Marie Danse, in 1942. They have no heirs. So they legate their goods to their domestics, the Armand : Martine, the good cook, Georges, the intendant, the driver.

Respecting the wish of their " masters " and wishing to share their admiration for the great man, to conserve his patrimonium, to make him famous to the new generations, the couple decides to legate to the city of Charleroi, his writing-desk, works of art, photographs, archives.
The museum is opened on 27 September 1988 in the attic of the Town Hall, built in 1936 following the plans of Joseph André (1885-1936). A monumental staircase starting from the Museum of Fine Arts, brings to the permanent exhibition in a structure with really contemporary architectural concepts and fittings, signed by Patrick Dumont.

A mezzanine gives shelter to a consultating library, the works of Jules Destrée, references to his period and diverse themes evocated in the museum.