Discover more about the history of the city of Dendermonde at the Vleeshuis City Museum. In the attic, you come face to face with the city’s oldest resident: a real mammoth. You can also find regional prehistoric finds there.
The first floor offers a captivating overview of various aspects of the medieval city. On the ground floor, explore the rich history of the Ros Beiaard and the shooting guilds.
In the late Middle Ages, people practicing the same craft could join guilds. Each trade was subject to strict rules. For example, butchers were only allowed to sell their products in a designated vleeshuis. The first vleeshuis was built in 1293. It was a large building that also served as a town hall, courtroom, and prison. By 1460, however, it had become dilapidated. Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy and the official lord of Dendermonde, gave permission to demolish the old vleeshuis and build a new one on the same site.
In 1862, the last “meat stalls” disappeared, and the space was converted into a covered vegetable market. At the end of the 19th century, the building was thoroughly restored by Edouard Bouwens. In 1914 it narrowly escaped destruction by the German army and was restored again later. In 1943, it was protected as a monument.
In the attic, you will find our main attraction: the almost intact skeleton of a mammoth, approximately 28,000 years old. This “oldest resident” is composed of bones from several mammoths found during sand extraction in the Sint-Onolfspolder in 1968.
Another exceptional archaeological find is the wooden “snekkenkop” dating from the Early Middle Ages. The museum also displays finds from the Stone Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Roman period. Children can explore archaeology and prehistory through an interactive installation.
On the first floor, the focus is on Dendermonde as a fortified city and a center for artisans. Here, cannonballs alternate with delicate glassware.
On the ground floor, relics of local guild life and processions are preserved. Never heard of the “knaptand” or the horse without a tail? Come and discover them here.
