Add a review about the Museum of Industry, Labor and Textiles

The Museum of Industry, Labor and Textiles (MIAT) occupies the former building of a textile mill in the center of Ghent . Here you can get acquainted with the development of industry in general and specifically textile from the middle of the 18th century to ours days . Gent was famous for its woolen-spinning manufactories and weaving workshops since the Middle Ages . Therefore, the basis of the museum exposition was all kinds of tools that were used in this production, including weaving looms, sewing and spinning s cars; as well as samples of various fabrics . During the inspection of museum halls one can learn about how from man-made fabrics mankind passed to the mechanization of production at the expense of steam and electric machines .

In the 1970s. a lot of evidence of the first and second industrial revolutions was dismantled and destroyed. The City Council of Ghent created an ad hoc committee in order to preserve the old machinery and mechanisms. In 1985 the museum received permission to use the old cotton winding factory to store its exhibits, and in 1989 it was also decided to open the exposition right here, what happened in 1991

Here you can get acquainted with the development of industry in general and specifically from the middle of the 18th century to the present day

The exhibition area of ​​MIAT is about 1800 square meters . m . The exhibition "Our Industrial Past" tells about the first industrial revolution, immersing the audience 250 years ago in the past . Exhibition "Work around the world y "tells about the impact of industrial revolutions on the working and private lives of people . And the exhibition" Cotton-Cacophony "comprehensively displays the production of cotton fabrics, starting from the cotton plantation and ending with the finished product . Interested persons can start the cotton machines themselves [ @@.This is a very impressive sight, although a very noisy . Textile Division complements the garden at the museum where the crops that are still used in the textile industry are planted . Plants from this garden are used in workshops at the museum .

On the top floor of the museum there is an observation deck from where you can admire the city.

The most valuable and interesting exhibits of the museum are the huge mechanical wheel, the twine, in 1789, and the spinning machine created at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, which was working for manual traction or with the help of draft animals. The latter, otherwise known as the mule machine, was brought from Manchester, the largest industrial center in Europe at that time. Both of these units are included in the list of objects of the Flemish heritage.

A separate part of the exposition consists of archival documents and photographs, by which it is possible to understand what happened to workers of similar factories, including children often.

The printing press of the 19th century. in the work at the MIAT in Ghent

The museum organizes various excursion tours, usually lasting an hour and a half. Everyone is dedicated to one side of industrial production. One of the tours is a two-hour walk around the factory building. Here you can see where and how the workers lived.

In the souvenir shop of the museum you can buy products that are still created on old factory assemblies: in particular, nice kitchen towels

Practical information

Address: Minnemeers , 9.

The museum is located in the city center, a short walk from the church of St. Jacob. You can get here by bus number 3 (stop Steendam) or number 38 and 39 (stop Sint-Jacobs).

Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday: 10:00 - 18:00.

Admission: for adults: 6 EUR, for pensioners: 4, 50 EUR, for young people 19-25 years: 2 EUR, for visitors under 19 years old admission is free (December 2014).