Based in a former warehouse, Kortrijk’s Texture Museum offers a fascinating portrait of the local flax industry.
Cultivated since the Middle Ages along the River Leie, flax provided the raw material for linen fabric, as well as ropes, tents, mailbags and construction material. Flax from Flanders is even used in the production of U.S. dollar bills, providing the banknotes with their reassuring rough texture.
The flax growers were originally local farmers who cultivated the crop in their fields. The region was so rich that the Leie became known as the Golden River. The Texture museum brings the industry to life through a creative mix of touch screens, video interviews, historic photographs, microscopes, scanners and fabrics you can touch.
Derek Blyth’s hidden secret of the day: Derek Blyth is the author of the bestselling “The 500 Hidden Secrets of Belgium”. He picks out one of his favourite hidden secrets for The Brussels Times every day.
