Museum devoted to history of Teutonic Knights opens in moated castle at Alden Biesen

Alden Biesen's moated castle in Bilzen-Hoeselt will be accessible practically every day from now on. “In the past, it opened to the public very sporadically,” Patrick Cornelissen, director of Alden Biesen, explains. "Visitors regularly asked us whether they could visit inside the castle. We are now responding to that."

On the ground floor, visitors learn more about the history of Alden Biesen and the Teutonic Knights. Visitors will encounter characters who once lived or visited Alden Biesen including a French king and even the land commander's dog.

Summer exhibition on the crusades

The summer exhibition is entitled "In God's name. Crusade to Acre." In a radio play, a young man named Henric and a clever rat called Ziggy take you on a journey through the choices and motivations of the crusaders.

"In the exhibition, we don't consider the battles but look at the reasons why people went on crusades," curator Vanessa Vaes explains. "Apparently people did not always go on a crusade because of their strong Christian convictions. Financial reasons too motivated them."

Donning chain mail

There’s a lot in store for children too. Not only can they watch and listen but also do all sorts of things. For instance, there is a “selfie corner” where they can dress up as a knight or princess, but there are also Spotify lists and strip cartoon albums. Kids who want to discover how heavy a knight's equipment weighed can put on a coat of mail along with a weight vest.

After the summer, the museum in the moated castle will close for a while due to events but will reopen in autumn. Find more information on the Alden Biesen website . Set language to English and navigate using menu button.