belgian coast: Middelkerke: attractions

 

 

The archeological site of walraversijde: a medieval fishing village

 

 

Nieuwpoortsesteenweg 636 Oostende

(on the border between Middelkerke and Oostende, near the airport)
tel. 059/70.22.85

E-mail: domein.raversijde@west-vlaanderen.be

 

 

 

 

                                 
                             
                                 
                             
                                 
                             

 

 

 

After 500 years a lost medieval fishing village lives again!

 

From April 1992 onwards the medieval fishing village Walraversijde  has been excavated by the “Institute for the Archaeological Patrimony” in cooperation with the province of West Flanders and the Flemish Office for Employment.

 

Starting with an audiovisual representation, the visitor can see the history of the Raversijde Domain reconstructed by means of virtual reality.

Walking through the reconstructed medieval landscape brings the visitor to four fisherman’s houses: the house of a rich ship owner, the home of a fisherman’s widow, a tradesman’s house and finally the fish smokehouse and bakery. When building these houses, much depended on archaeological evidence to know how they had to look like. Moreover, these houses have been rebuilt using the original medieval bricks of the village.

All objects that can be seen in the houses are true replica from recent findings. Thanks to the audio equipment, visitors are guided through the houses by the voice of medieval inhabitants Then follows an ‘experience of transition’ whereby the visitor passes through a dilapidated village house and is beamed into the archaeologist’s field cabin. A short distance further the excavation site can be found, exactly at the same spot where the four fisherman’s houses were discovered. Thanks to intensive research without time pressure, even the smallest traces like seeds and fish rests could be investigated thoroughly. And so the excavations provided a detailed image of the fishermen’s daily life, their houses and their occupations.

 

The visit of the site is concluded with an exhibition in the museum building. Here, the original objects are put in their context with the help of the latest interactive techniques. The life of the medieval fishermen is reconstructed in a lively and educative way. Young and old can individually discover the living world of our ancestors.

 

Events organisated (nearly) every year:

 

Walraversyde: Wake up: for information click here

a medieval festival: for information click here

 

Evenementen 2015 Raversyde

 

​17.03 ​OPENING NATUURPARK
​21 & 22.03 OPENINGSWEEKEND RAVERSYDE ​GRATIS TOEGANG
​19.04 WAKKER WALRAVERSIJDE​
​26.04 ​ERFGOEDDAG 'ERF' ​​GRATIS TOEGANG
​26.04 NATUURWANDELING​
​10.05 WAKKER WALRAVERSIJDE​
​21.06 > 21.09 BEAUFORT 'BUITEN DE GRENZEN’​
​21.06 WAKKER WALRAVERSIJDE​​
​07.06 NATUURWANDELING​
​4.07 NOCTURNE  ANNO 1465​ ​GRATIS TOEGANG
​21.07 ​NATUURWANDELING​
​8 & 9.08 MIDDELEEUWS WEEKEND​
​15.08 > 23.08 CWXRM - COMINGWORLDREMEMBERME
​16.08 NATUURWANDELING​​
​16.08 OPENDEURDAG  VOGELOPVANGCENTRUM​ ​GRATIS TOEGANG
​22.08 NOCTURNE ATLANTIKWALL​ ​GRATIS TOEGANG
​13.09 OPEN MONUMENTENDAG​ ​GRATIS TOEGANG
​20.09 NATUURWANDELING​​​
​27.09 FORTENDAG​ € 8​
​10.10 NACHT VAN DE DUISTERNIS​
​31.10 HALLOWEEN MIDDELEEUWS AVONDSPEL​
​1.11 HALLOWEEN WORKSHOPS​

 

 

Click here for a slideshow of walraversijde

 

The domain of Raversijde consists the Atlantic Wall, the medieval fishing village and the memorial of Prince Karel.

3 museums can be visited separately, but one overall ticket gives you the opportunity to visit them on different days at a reduced price (ticket valid throughout the year and audioguides are included).

 

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