Industrial & heritage museums in Belgium

Bourgogne des Flandres is a unique Belgian beer that is brewed in the heart of Bruges, in the province of West Flanders. This beer has a rich history and is known for its distinctive taste. The Bourgogne des Flandres Brewery, where the beer is brewed, is located in the historic center of Bruges, making it a significant part of the city's heritage.

Museum Plantin-Moretus is the only museum in the world that is on the Unesco World Heritage List. It is a combination of a patrician house from the 16th to 18th century, a printing company that was founded in 1550 and active until the 19th century, a collection of art and a collection of manuscripts

Open air museum Bokrijk consists of reconstructed and furnished buildings, and small buildings from different areas and periods in Flanders, from sty to clergy houses. The collection includes 30,000 pieces of heritage that together illustrate daily life of the 17th century to 1950. Visitors experien

Le Bois du Cazier is dedicated to Wallonia's industrial past. The three industrial sectors that made the Charleroi region great are featured in the museum: the steel, coal and glass industries. Workshops allow visitors to see how metal is worked and glass is made.

The Atomium has a permanent exhibition called: 'Atomium. From symbol to icon' which tells the story of more than 50 years of history of a pavilion that has become the symbol of Brussels and Belgium. It covers the history of the Atomium. Next, it tells the story of its decline in the late 1990s befor

Hopmuseum Poperinge is located on the ‘stadsschaalcomplex’ where hop used to be weighed, inspected and stacked. The museum illustrates the history of the hop plant, field works, hop harvest and the various applications of hop. The collection of the museum includes authentic hop tools, historical doc

MIAT (Museum about industry, labour and textile) illustrates the evolution of industrial society from 1750 to now. Periods covered are: the first Industrial Revolution, the rise of the machine, the evolution of the consumption and information society, the evolving technology and everyday life. Spec

The National Playing Card Museum is dedicated to the history of the playing card. Since the early 19th century cards are made in Turnhout and in the 20th century the city became the sole manufacturer of playing cards in the Low Countries. Besides the history, it also shows the production of playing

In the Historic Center Canal, visitors experience the hydraulic elevators that bridge a height difference of about 17 meters using one energy source: water. There is also the opportunity to take a ride on a tourist train and participate in tours of a machine hall.

Abdijmuseum Ten Duinen 1138 illustrates the history of the Cistercian Abbey OLV Ten Duinen with contemporary presentation techniques. The museum also covers the order of Cîteaux and the society it belonged to, and makes links with other cultures and religions. The museum has five components: the abb

Sint-Janshuismolen (Sint-Janshuis Mill) is the only one of the four windmills on the city ramparts where grain is still actually ground. The millers are only too happy to welcome you with secrets about this age-old craft. If the wind is favourable, you can even see the mechanism in operation. Moreov

The Museums of Fourneau Saint-Michel include: le musée de la vie rurale en Wallonie (musée de plein air) (Museum of Rural Life in Wallonia, open-air museum) and le musée du fer et de la métallurgie ancienne (The Iron Museum).

Een bezoek aan het Jenevermuseum zet je zintuigen op scherp: je ziet, hoort én beleeft de passie voor het eeuwenoud, maar springlevend jenevererfgoed met geurinstallaties, filmpjes, geluidsfragmenten en, niet te vergeten, een uitgebreide collectie. Van borrelglaasjes en affiches tot de juiste inform

Maison de la Metallurgie et de l'Industrie de Liège is a museum located in the former Espérance-Longdoz factory. The museum is dedicated to Liege's metallurgy and industry. The collection includes machines and tools, scale models and diagrams, photographs, paintings, lithographs, statues and ancient

Malt and Brew House De Snoek is an authentic brewery and malt house from the 19th century, from the time when a brewery was a family business. The museum displays the entire existing range of West Flemish beers. It also possesses, among other things, a collection of miniature fairground mills, carts

The Museum of Labor and Industry "La Fonderie" is housed in the buildings of the Compagnie des Bronzes, a bronze factory that was one of the crown jewels of Brussels industry for more than a century. The museum is dedicated to the labor and daily life of the Brussels native. The museum portrays the

Immerse yourself in the heart of the Brussels City Hall and let yourself be transported back through the centuries thanks to an interactive experience. As soon as you arrive on the magnificent Grand-Place, you'll be captivated by the imposing silhouette of this emblematic building, a veritable jewel

The Brussels Museum of Geuze is located in a family-owned brewery where brewing is still traditional. It reveals the stages of the production process: brewing, fermentation, bottling and storage in the cellar. The museum displays many materials from the 19th century, including the brewing vat, boili

The only remaining Belgian local tramway depot from 1888, located on the former Brussels-Ninove tram line. Tram museum since 1962. The tram museum has a collection of trams and locomotives, with the royal carriage of Leopold II as its showpiece. Open March - October Group visits & photoshoots

In 2012, the le Grand-Hornu mining site was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The former mining complex reflects 19th-century industry. The complex was built in neoclassical style and includes the industrial mining complex, the workers' quarter and the administrators' homes.

Paper mill Herisem is a witness to the development of paper and cardboard. The mill is mentioned as early as 1306 and paper was made in the 16th century. In 1858, the Winderickx family switched to cardboard. Visitors will experience how water wheels and steam drive cardboard machines and what life w

The Mining Museum Beringen is located on the former mining site of Beringen. The museum is dedicated to mine mining. A reconstructed pillar shows the work in the underground and a model with sound and light shows the operation of the above-ground mine.

Collection Hugo Voeten is located in Art Center Hugo Voeten (indoor) in Herentals and Sculpture Park Hugo Voeten in Geel-Westerlo (outdoor). Both are unique environments displaying unique art in the green heart of the Antwerp Kempen region. They house the private collection of entrepreneur Hugo Voet

C-Mine is the former coal mine of Winterslag in Genk. In the C-Mine expedition, an old air passage from the former mine has been transformed into an experience center of to be recalled mine stories, mine sounds and mine odors.

Brussels Museum of Milling and Food - Evere Mill shows the history and technology of milling through authentic objects and a documentary.

Stoommachinemuseum ETIZ is dedicated to the history and operation of the power plant powered by a steam engine. Top, monumental piece in the museum is a large steam engine from 1936 of 110 tonnes.

The Olens Radio Museum is dedicated to radio. The museum displays over 700 radios and related objects that paint a picture of 100 years of radio history. Among other things, the museum covers Rühmkorff's spool that sent the first radio signals into space, the wire recorder that was the forerunner of

The Schaarbeek Beer Museum paints a picture of Schaarbeek's and Belgium's brewing past using, among other things, old machines, beer crates, 1,000 bottles and 750 glasses, a beer cart, instruments, promotional material and documents. Visitors also discover how beer is brewed.

In the museum, you meet the German artist Käthe Kollwitz, her son Peter and her work. In the Käthe Kollwitz Museum you learn more about Peter. This young German World War I frontlinesoldier gets killed on the day of his arrival in Diksmuide. To process her grief, his mother Käthe makes two statue

The Hertboom Mill Museum shows how the mill has lived and continues to live. There are maps and documents about the mill, as well as songs, legends and tall tales.

From the very origin of numbers to the digital tablets of today, the NAM-IP computer museum tells a journey through time. The permanent exhibition "To the sources of the digital world: machines that count" explains the major breakthroughs in computing that have led to our digital culture and which a

Herbert Foundation is a space for contemporary art in Ghent, holding the collection and archives of Annick and Anton Herbert. Their art collection and archive focus on the artistic developments in the periods around 1968 and 1989. Herbert Foundation’s heritage site, surrounded by a green garden, is

The Mill and Bakery Museum has closed. The museum was located in the Vannestes Mill, a restored 1841 stone stage mill . In addition to grinding grain, the mill also pressed oil from linseed. Until World War I, it was a bakery complex with oil butchery and chicory distillery. The museum consisted of

Mola is a museum and a knowledge and information center. The museum is dedicated to wind and water mills. The permanent exhibition highlights water and wind as inexhaustible sources of energy and shows how the mill is the forerunner of all machinery. There is also a focus on East Flanders' mill poli

In Bocholter Brewery Museum - Brewery Martens, the story of the true art of beer is told through its industrial history from 1758 to the present day. It is the largest brewery museum in Europe. Visitors wander from the malt house to the brewing rooms, through the oak fermentation and lagering vessel

Mill Museum Overpelt is a center where the mill heritage of Belgium is kept alive. Overpelt is the mill municipality of northern Limburg. According to Belgian archives, the oldest water mills were located in Overpelt. Today, the municipality has four water mills and two wind mills. The mills are the

Musée National du Papier is located in the fully restored old monastery of Malmedy. The museum is dedicated to paper production and the paper industry. The museum's collection takes visitors back to the basics and history of the manufacture of paper along a trail of documents from archives, models,

The National Museum and Archives of Customs and Excise highlights shady dealings at Belgium's (former) borders. The museum focuses on the operation of the services that acted against them: customs and excise.

Musée du vieux Nimy is dedicated to the 3,000 workers who worked daily in Nimy's factories and workshops in the recent past.

Musée de la Pierre Sprimont is located in the old power plant of the Sprimont quarry. Visitors there uncover, among other things, the different stages in the working of the stone.

Clockhouse is a clock museum that displays over 600 different clocks and watches.

The Museum of Anesthesia displays old anesthesia and resuscitation equipment from various countries.

The Carriage Museum in Bree displays a collection of carriages of Swiss, German, French, Polish, Flemish, Dutch and Turkish manufacture. Queen's pieces are the Landulet (a German standing carriage) and the Stanhope Phaeton (an English carriage).

The Maison du Sucre - Sugar House shows the world of sugar. Through films, display windows and didactic panels, discovers topics related to sugar.

The small Electrical Museum Pulderbos displays a collection of electrical equipment.

The Eekloos Jeneverhuis Van Hoorebeke is dedicated to the history of Jenever in the Eeklo area. Visitors listen, watch and discover how the love and knowledge of gin was passed on from father to son.

Brickmaking Museum 't Geleeg is housed in an 1880s hand-built brickyard reconstructed with original buildings. Visitors follow the entire process from clay to brick through machines, alam, photographs and archival documents, among other things. The open-air area still looks like it did 100 years ago

Clock Museum Huis Michiels is located in a 17th century building called 'den Clippel'. Huis Michiels is a historical workshop for tower clocks and carillons. The museum displays tower clocks and the history of bell casting.