Oostende, the royal city near the North Sea in West-Flanders, Belgium always is worth a visit. There is the sea, the beach and lots of small galleries but also a big Museum called Mu.Zee.
Mu.Zee offers a pleasant art collection (mostly paintings) from around 1830 till now. It has a permanent collection and there are always temporary exhibitions.
Already in 1885, the history of the fine arts museum of the city of Oostende started with a large gift of a private art collector. It was in 1897 that a museum was created to house the large art collection.
At the beginning of World War II, in 1940, an air raid destroyed the library of the museum and a part of the collection.
A new building was opened in 1958. The art collection was specialized in artists who were from Oostende themselves like:
James Ensor (1860-1949) , Constant Permeke (1886–1952) and Léon Spilliaert (1881–1946).
From 1962 till 1985 the exhibitions where shown in Bruges and Ypres. In 1986 a definitive location was found in Oostende.
The building originally was a department store and designed by architect Gaston Eyssselinck in 1947. From 1986 it was the location of the PMMK the Museum for Modern Art of the Province of West-Flanders. From 2008 it became the seat of Mu.ZEE.
In 2021 there was an exhibition about the history of the building.
The Mu.Zee is located at the Romestraat 11 in Oostende. It’s a short walk from the city centre and it is a big culture temple.
We like to visit there due to the architecture, its past and the contemporary look & feel. It is very modern and light, which certainly does not give a claustrophobic feeling. It has several floors each with its own artistic theme.
The last time my husband and I visited Mu.Zee was in June 2021.
The opening hours of Mu.Zee : Tuesday - Sunday: from 10 a.m. to 5.30 p.m.
Be aware: Mu.Zee is closed on Monday.
€12 individual visitor
€10 groups from 15 pp, 65+
€1 from 13 to 26 years old
Free children up to 12 years old
Tickets are on sale until 5 pm.
Mu.ZEE is less than 1 km walking distance from the station. You take the Vindictivelaan, past the marina. You will automatically arrive at Alfons Pieterslaan. From the town hall you take the third street on the left.
Check always the website of Mu.Zee for the latest Covid measures. https://www.muzee.be/en/visit
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Kathleen Van Lierop (born in 1979) is married and lives in Belgium. She is an avid traveler and a real museum lover. She likes books / (royal) history, culture and tourism. She has two blogs: https://allaboutroyalfamilies.blogspot.com/ and My Crazy Life Full With Books