It’s not all that well known among foreign visitors but the Bokrijk Open-air Museum is well worth a visit. Historical buildings recreate rural life in various parts of Flanders as it was in years gone by. 148 authentic historical buildings are gathered in several clusters each representing a different style and region. In recent years major renovation work has been underway. All buildings in the open-air museum were in line for renovation. This renovation project is now nearing completion.
The first cluster of historical buildings where the renovation has been completed is the collection of buildings from the Haspengouw region. This section reopened to the general public on 1 April. Liesbet Gabriels is the deputy president of Bokrijk: “The nice thing about the Haspengouw display is that it has been completely restored. No more work is underway. Here actors bring rural life in years gone by back to life”.
The open-air museum is full of historical everyday characters including the local priest keen to put the fear of God into visitors, but also the local Bobbie or “champetter”, who is eager to keep order!
Actors portraying historical characters representing different periods will show you where our customs and traditions come from. There are also displays of old crafts and here and there visitors will be able to join in!
Emphasis is on farming but displays also include a church, inn, village school as well as craftsmen’s workshops like a smithy.
The Open-air Museum Bokrijk is a park and museum complex near the eastern town of Genk in Limburg Province. It was conceived in 1953 by the Province of Limburg and opened five years later. The aim was to conserve agricultural buildings of important cultural and historical value that were disappearing from the landscape. At the open-air museum you can visit a vast array of historical buildings from across Flanders. Each set of historical buildings represent rural life in a particular part of Flanders. These are grouped in sections devoted to the Kempen District, East and West Flanders and Haspengouw and the Maasland. A fourth cluster of buildings is dedicated to the Sixties.
No further historical buildings can be added because under today’s Belgian law these need to be preserved on location.
In addition to the 148 historical buildings the museum also houses 30,000 items dating from the 17th century to the Fifties.
Bokrijk also boasts a museum farm and collaborates with the Living Heritage Support Unit to realise breeding programmes to protect historical animal species that are linked to particular areas.
Bokrijk is marking its 65th anniversary this month. As a result there are special celebrations every Sunday in April. More actors will recreate rural life. There’s a village band and visitors will be able to taste fresh bread and flan tart baked in historical ovens.
The park itself covers an area of 550 hectares or 2.1 square miles and is ideal for hikers and cyclists. The estate includes an important botanic garden, the Arboretum, and a nature reserve (not open to the public) as well as the largest open-air playground in Flanders. The Arboretum was started in 1965 and covers 18 hectares. It is one of the largest collections in Belgium.
Cyclists will enjoy the De Wijers pond area and “Cycling Through Water”, where there is a cycle path that takes you straight across the pond with water up to your waist on each side!