[1] The house, of late Gothic or early Renaissance style, was built between 1460 and 1515 under the tutelage of Peter Wijchmans [fr], canon and schoolmaster of the chapter of Anderlecht, and a friend of Erasmus.

Its garden is split into two parts that both try to adhere to the spirit of Erasmus: one through art and philosophy and the other, designed by the landscape architect René Pechère [fr], through typical medicinal plants from the 16th century.

The oldest part, high, narrow, with a gently sloping roof, was built around 1460 by Peeter Wijchmans, official money changer of the City of Brussels.

A man of culture, Canon Wijchmans gladly welcomed scholars and intellectuals to his residence in Anderlecht, among them the famous Dutch humanist writer and theologian Erasmus of Rotterdam with whom a friendship was established.

In September 1521, he sent these words to the French scholar and humanist Guillaume Budé: I am writing to you these lines from our countryside in Anderlecht, where, driven by your example, I too began to live in the fields.

[8] Erasmus thus considered it prudent to move away from the University of Leuven, a place of passionate theological debates, for protection, by getting closer to the court of the young emperor Charles V, established at the Coudenberg Palace in the heart of Brussels, to whom he had been appointed adviser a few years earlier.

In the aftermath of the French Revolution, the Erasmus House became a civilian residence before it was purchased, in 1931, by the local council, which turned it into a museum dedicated to the great Renaissance figure.

Following a restoration campaign led by the architect Charles Van Elst in a spirit of the purest historicism, the Erasmus House Museum was inaugurated on 24 September 1932.

[9] In addition to an important collection of Erasmus's writings, the museum also houses paintings by Hans Holbein the Younger, Hieronymus Bosch, Albrecht Dürer, Cornelis Massijs and Joos van Cleve, as well as 17th-century murals.

The Renaissance Room, lined with Córdoba leather with gold leaf prints, is adorned with Flemish school paintings of the 15th and 16th centuries, such as ones by Hieronymus Bosch, Quentin Matsys, and Pieter Huys.

Using the three classical languages in some of his writings (Latin, Greek and Hebrew) Erasmus worked with the best printers of his time, including Johann Froben of Basel, and personally revised the printing proofs.

The orchards from the beginning of the 20th century were converted into a garden by the architect Charles Van Elst and hosted the Belgian Outdoor Sculpture Biennials (1946–1966).

This garden also houses works created by contemporary artists including Catherine Beaugrand, Marie-Jo Lafontaine, as well as Perejaume and Bob Verschueren.