The Museum of Flanders

BGTW member John Ruler describes an exciting new museum in northern France. He proposed it for the BGTW Tourism Awards; it didn't make it to the finals, but here's what he finds special about it:

You will not find the Museum of Flanders, as you might expect, in Belgium or indeed in any other major Flemish centre come to that but instead tucked away in the ancient hilltop town of Cassel in the rural French Flanders region of Nord-Pas de Calais.

The setting is the flamboyant 16th-century Hotel de la Noble-Cour the former Court of Justice which, after 13 year’s closure and a 7.5 million euro renovation, opened last October as the ONLY museum dedicated to Flemish culture in all its forms.

And that means being both frivolous in a folklore-ish sort of way as well as capturing Cassel’s war-torn past not least during War World One when Marshal Foch famously set up his headquarters in the walled town as Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces. But, in tune with a museum that reflects Flemish characteristics, more than stiffly defined galleries, the theme of Moderation is Excess is simply shown as having a bit of a laugh.

This mish-mash of silliness and seriousness seems to go down well. So far there have been 86,000 visitors, 600 of them English well over the planned target of 50,000.

Galleries are l bright and airy, with some of the paintings, none of which are displayed in a specific time scale, on loan or deposit in this lovingly restored building with its crow-stepped roof. A pyramid of cards forms part of an eclectic collection of curiosities; so, too, does a wise old owl, which is not so silly as it looks. Which pretty well sums up the philosophy behind this most Flemish of buildings.

www.museedeflandre.cg59.fr