More than 800 monuments across Flanders are welcoming visitors for the 36th Open Monument Day today. With over 1,100 free activities, there’s something for everyone.
This year, under the theme En route! the event highlights how people and ideas have always travelled through ancient routes over land, rail or water.
Hundreds of local organisers are hosting visitors in their cared-for monuments. There are plenty of free activities, including monument tours, guided walks and workshops, with a particular focus on walks and bike rides.
Leuven is the host city this year, offering a special programme. Visitors can tour the town hall for the last time before a five-year closure for extensive renovations, and learn about the future of Saint James’s Church, which has been shut for around 60 years.
In Antwerp, you can hop on a ferry from the Museum aan de Stroom (MAS) to the Dry Docks site, where you can explore various boats or ride along with adventurer Fons Oerlemans’s bottle.
Ghent is unveiling the new province house – formerly the Leopold Barracks – and inaugurating the renovated sculpture gardens at Saint Luke’s.
In Limburg, Bokrijk is open free of charge, with local history societies from all over Flanders showcasing heritage from their regions.
In Bruges, architect Yvan Claeys is opening his own modernist home to public, and in Kortrijk the Navigo Fishing Museum reopens, featuring the skeleton of a sperm whale named Valentine as a highlight.
For those planning a visit, you can check out openmonumentenday.be/activities. Please note that reservations may be required for some activities.
