Research

A builders lodge for the Prince's castle

Prince's castle in scaffolding From ruins to construction site The Prince's castle has a long and eventful history. After the retreat of the German occupiers in 1944, who burned down the castle, it fell into disrepair. Today it is a ruin, only the keep or residential tower is still standing and you can visit it as part of the MOT. The Municipality of Grimbergen is the owner and has been carrying out urgent conservation works since 2024 to prevent further decay, but a complete reconstruction of the castle is not possible for various reasons.  And yet the MOT is going to make an attempt! As a museum, we want to turn the Prinsenkasteel into a historic construction site, where we can experiment with and learn from historical construction techniques and tools. Where possible, we rebuild parts of the castle with late medieval techniques, tools and materials. A long-term work, from which we will learn a lot.  The ruin is currently unsafe, we have to wait until after the conservation works (2024-2025)...

Balance crane We built this wooden balance crane to allow school pupils to experience the operation of a lever during the Atelier Levers.  Such a crane is a hoist that consists of a vertical pole that is fixed and forms the support point for the horizontal beam that serves as a lever. Sometimes the lever hangs from a chain, allowing it to be turned and swiveled.  The load is connected to the lever by means of a rope, chain or something similar. Balance cranes were to be found in ports to load and unload ships, on construction sites, in quarries...