+1000 years Ypres

Ypres in the Middle Ages

On the first floor of the Cloth Halls you will discover Ypres as a large town in the Middle Ages. Here you will find not only an amazing, interactive model, but you can also take a closer look at five different themes — Cradle, Cloth, Conflict, Plague and Episcopate — either chronologically, or by skipping from one theme to another.

Vanished city

Archaeological discoveries allow us to see what was once experienced in the now vanished parts of the city. Insignias and brooches take us right to the heart of the denizen of the Middle Ages, as they show who the wearer was, and what he or she stood for.
There were hundreds of types of insignias: from the holy to the very profane or sophisticated, from purely devotional to extremely sexual, and from religious to superstitious. The Yper Museum’s unique collection is made up solely of insignias dug up in Ypres. These tell us a lot about the imagery, culture, and experience at the time.

Googlemaps #middleagesago

On the first floor you will enter, via our showpiece, the Ypres of the Middle  Ages. Through a giant 3D model the city is brought to life in funny and crazy short films. Children can crawl underneath the model and reach the sewage system to take an unique look at underground Ypres. On the ceiling you will see drone footage of the new city. It’s a good-as-360° experience that gives you a fantastic view of Ypres, past and present!

300 years in 7 minutes

How do you scrunch up three centuries into seven minutes? You will find out on the second floor, where you can watch a film — while lying down — about Ypres from 1566 until into the nineteenth century.

Clara, Louise & Léontine

The nineteenth century was tough on Ypres. Three important women from the city’s history each explain an important aspect. Lacemaker Clara will talk about wealth and poverty, artist Louise discusses the Fine Arts and Léontine takes you to her photography store.

From fragments tot resilience

A corridor of fragments – a metaphor for the darkest page in the recent history of our region – leads you to the final room. There you will see the resilience of the Westhoek. Ypres’ residents show you the nicest spots in their city, and famous locals chip in too. In ‘Ypres in the world’ (‘Ieper in de wereld’) you will discover various objects with a link to the area, from the drum on the cover of a Beatles album to Mount Kemmel in Canada. ‘The world in Ypres’ (‘De wereld in Ieper’) brings you in contact with the city’s foreigners. Finally, you will have a chance to pick up a bit of our sumptuous dialect.