Turnhout’s local history museum is in a gorgeous 16th-century townhouse, the second-oldest burgher residence in the city and a guesthouse for distinguished visitors in old times.
The museum is the HQ for Taxandria, an archaeological society devoted to the Kempen area, founded in 1903 and donating its big collection to Turnhout in 1931. There’s a lot to get through in this fabulous setting, but a few item need as much time as you can afford.
These are a 15th-century case for valuable city documents, a precursor to the 17th-century privilegenkast now at the city hall, and a hoard of gold coins from the last quarter of the 16th century, unearthed during renovation works at a house on Turnhout’s Grote Markt in 1891. Also enthralling is a painted door (1665) from the old city hall’s hunting courts, and the exquisite Art Nouveau lace pillow used to pass a set of keys to the future King Albert II and Queen Elisabeth when they inaugurated a set of fountains on Grote Markt in 1904.