Collection ym

Ypres and cats have been linked for centuries. Today, everyone is familiar with the Cat Parade, which winds its way through the city’s streets every three years. But the origins of this tradition go back much further. As early as the Middle Ages, cats played a prominent role in city life.

The Christmas season is upon us once again. High time to delve into the museum collection and see what traces of this annual celebration can be found. In addition to classic scenes depicting the birth of Christ, several Santa Claus dolls catch the eye. They belong to the collection of the Tientelientje Puppet Theatre, which was donated to the Ypres museums in 2005.

In 2023, CC Het Perron, in collaboration with the Ypres Museum, organised the exhibition “I try to remember how your texture felt like”, which focuses on contemporary textile art. As part of this exhibition, artist Charlotte Stuby (born 1989) explores the history of Ypres, its local colour, heritage and cultural legacy, including the collection of the Ypres Museum.

The Yper Museum recently acquired a folder containing beautiful academic drawings from a descendant of the Ypres painter Edouard Hennaert (1831-1886). Academic drawings are study drawings that were usually produced in a formally organised drawing school or elsewhere.

One of the highlights of the Ypres Museum is a large copper tomb slab belonging to the wealthy Ypres residents Pieter Lansaem (+1489) and his wife Liesbeth Pauwelin (+1487). The museum recently acquired a rare publication about this remarkable piece.

In 1853, Ypres was granted a cavalry school by the young Belgian government. Not just any school, but one of international renown. Young soldiers from all over the world came to Ypres to be trained as top riders. The school housed 168 horses, but this number quickly grew to 366. This brought international fame back to the fortified town.

The Ypres Museum has three beautiful cabinets from the seventeenth century. These are luxury items in which wealthy people stored their valuable small objects and documents. They were a speciality of Antwerp and found eager buyers all over Europe.

The Yper Museum has no fewer than 90 works by the Ypres artist Louise De Hem. Some of the works are on permanent display in the museum, but the majority are kept in the depot of the Ypres museums, the DEPOTYZE heritage depot. Especially for the exhibition LOUISE/EDITH. Carried on hands, several works were given a facelift and moved to the Royal Hall.

When his French colleague Félix Tournachon, better known as Nadar, took off from the Brussels Botanical Garden on 26 September 1864 in his legendary hot air balloon Le Géant, Ghémar was quick to capture the moment on camera. This photo clearly shows that the spectacle attracted thousands of spectators. To keep them at a safe distance, Mayor Anspach had the streets cordoned off with crowd barriers, which have since been called “Nadar barriers” or “Nadar fences”.

The Ypres Museum has acquired a particularly beautiful and interesting work of art. It is a bronze portrait of none other than Albert Blyau (1872-1946). Thanks to this man, we still know countless old Ypres lace songs today. He travelled around Ypres and the surrounding area and drew “counts” or “tally marks” of lace makers. In the Ypres Museum, the Ypres lace schools and “spellewerksters” songs - saved by Albert Blyau - are given a lot of attention! A section of Blyau and Tasseel's 1902 publication is on display and you can listen to modern renditions of these folk songs. Read more.

700 years ago, on 17 September, Robert of Bethune died. Especially for this anniversary, we are taking Walter Seys' linocut out of the museum's storage.

Alice Fischer was born on 18 May 1863 in Leuven. Her father, Achilles-Jean-Charles Fischer, was a major in the 1st Regiment of Mounted Hunters in Ixelles. When she was 10 years old, the family moved to Ypres. Her father Achilles was put in charge of the cavalry school there.