Research

Access The MOT is housed in historic buildings that were not originally intended as a museum. The many stairs, floors and mezzanines hinder access for visitors who are less good at getting about, and especially for wheelchair users. To help persons with specific needs, physical or mental limitations, we can make adjustments where possible. Feel free to contact us at +32 2 270 81 11 or info@mot.be.

Floors  On the ground level, the floors of timber framed buildings are made of natural stone, brick or earth. On the elevated floors, they can be made in wood. Cheaper than tiled floors are earthen floors, which were common in many farms and certainly in barns. An earthen floor is not just some made by ramming earth, it requires knowledge to install it properly.

Plan your visit The MOT, one museum, three locations:

What is what?This text can only be consulted in Dutch.

RCB: search by company nameRCB stands for the Repertorium van de Belgische Handelscatalogi (Directory of Belgian Trade Catalogues). It is an online aid to trace trade catalogues published in Belgium before c. 1950, in public collections.Click on a company name to open the corresponding file or search for the name of a city or municipality. You can quickly search using the key combination "Ctrl-F" and go through all search results with the "enter" key.

Making wattle hurdles Part of the MOT staff went to visit Aart Horden in Everdingen (The Netherlands), a former hurdler with a very suitable surname who still has a lot of knowledge about making hurdles (horden in Dutch). Hurdles are the braided willow screens that were often used in the past to stop sheep and other animals from escaping, as a gangway in scaffolding on the construction site, as an attic floor in farms, at dyke reinforcements, as a temporary bridge to cross a ditch, as an agricultural tool to cover the seed on the field, etc. . At first glance simple weaving, but the knowledge and skill of a real hurdler cannot be underestimated. Here some images as an impression of this interesting visit.