National Maritime Museum

The geographical history of Baasrode (in one tide the Antwerp-Baasrode route could be bypassed) ensured that this small Scheldt village already grew into an important trading center in the earliest Middle Ages. An etching by P. Breughel points in that direction. The current museum is located in the authentic master house of the former shipyard owner Van Damme. This listed building dates from 1830. It has beautiful ceiling paintings from 1852 (in the Royal Salons) and also valuable wall frescoes (1895) that show Art Nouveau characteristics. The collection of the maritime museum gives a global picture of shipbuilding in Flanders during the last two centuries.

There is a permanent exhibition of dozens of ship models and half-models, as well as a range of tools for building wooden and iron ships.

An extensive collection of ship's equipment gives a picture of skipper life during the past decades.

The museum archive contains more than 3,000 construction plans of various ship types. These plans are used in the model building class.

Every museum season, the maritime museum organizes a themed exhibition with various topics that are always connected to local and maritime history.

The symbol of the museum, the ship lamp of the type 'Bostroëneir' (the kerosene lamp that stays on even in the heaviest storms) is an original Baasroods design with international fame.

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