Frietmuseum facts for kids
| Frietmuseum | |
The Gothic Saaihalle which houses the museum.
|
|
| Established | 2008 |
|---|---|
| Location | Bruges, Belgium |
| Type | Food museum |
| Owner | Eddy Van Belle |
The Frietmuseum is a special museum in Bruges, Belgium. It teaches visitors all about the history of potatoes and how delicious Belgian fries are made. The museum proudly calls itself "the first and only museum dedicated to potato fries" in the world.
The Museum's Story
The Frietmuseum was started in 2008 by a person named Eddy Van Belle. He already had two other museums in Bruges. These were Choco-Story, which is all about Belgium's chocolate, and Lumina Domestica, which shows off his huge collection of 6,500 lamps.
Mr. Van Belle saw how popular Choco-Story was. This made him think about opening a museum for fries. He looked around and found that no other museum like it existed anywhere. So, he decided to create the Frietmuseum!
What You'll See at the Museum
_located_in_the_Gothic_Saaihalle_(former_Wool_Hall)_at_Vlamingstraat_33%27_by_Tania_Dey.JPG)
The Frietmuseum is located in a very old and beautiful building called the Saaihalle. This building is at Vlamingstraat 33 in Bruges. It's one of the oldest buildings in the historic center of Bruges, which is a World Heritage Site. The main part of the building was built way back in 1399. A small addition was built soon after.
For many years in the 1400s, this building was used by merchants from Genoa, Italy. Before the museum opened, the building was carefully fixed up for about a year and a half. This included making the outside look new again. No big changes were made to the inside of the building during this work.
The museum has three floors for you to explore.
- On the ground floor, you can learn about the history of potatoes. This story starts in Peru around 8000 BC!
- The first floor tells the story of fries. You'll discover how they started in Belgium.
- In the basement, there's a cozy cafe where you can enjoy some fries.
The museum shows many interesting things. These include old photographs, cool artwork, and machines used to peel potatoes and make chips. There's even a video that teaches you how to make the most perfect fries!
The Museum Building's Past
The Saaihalle, where the Frietmuseum is, has a long history. It was built in 1399 as a wool hall. In 1441, it became the home of the Consul of Genoa. From 1578 to 1750, weavers used the building. Over the years, it has also been an inn, a cafe, a cinema, and a dance hall. Since 1978, it was a bank and an exhibition space before becoming the Frietmuseum.
