Historium

With unique pieces from the collection of Musea Brugge the city's history comes to life. The showpiece is the 17th-century masterpiece by Jan-Baptist van Meunincxhove, 'The market square in Bruges'. This painting offers a rare glimpse of the Waterhalle, an architectural wonder that perfectly captures the grandeur of medieval Bruges. 

Thanks to an innovative augmented reality maquette, you can now literally step into 15th-century Bruges. Using a tablet, the Waterhalle, from van Meunincxhove's painting, comes to life in an AR maquette, giving you an unparalleled glimpse of the past.

You are now looking at the Waterhalle as the renowned painter Jan-Baptist Van Meunincxhove saw and painted it in the 17th century. The Waterhalle was 100 metres in length and 25 metres wide, and capped with an immense roof structure. This was architecture like no other in the Middle Ages, comparable to today's most imposing skyscrapers! To give you a sense of scale: the Waterhalle, at 25 metres wide, was more than double the width of the Bruges Halls. Be sure to take the time to admire the details of the buildings, the vivid characters, clothing, animals and even the goods on the market stalls. Note specifically the well in front of the Waterhalle. It was part of the public wells system. This was a sophisticated network of pipes that carried fresh water from a reservoir on the city outskirts to the wells in the city centre.