The Frietmuseum (Fries museum) is a museum in
Bruges
Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...
, Belgium, which is devoted to the history of potatoes and the production of
Belgian fries
French fries ( North American English), chips (British English), finger chips (Indian English), french-fried potatoes, or simply fries, are '' batonnet'' or ''allumette''-cut deep-fried potatoes of disputed origin from Belgium and France. Th ...
. It describes itself as "the first and only museum dedicated to potato fries".
History
The museum was founded in 2008 by Eddy Van Belle, who had previously opened two other museums in Bruges, both based in one building:
Choco-Story, which is dedicated to
Belgium's chocolate industry, and
Lumina Domestica, which houses Van Belle's 6,500-piece collection of lamps.
Inspired by the popularity of Choco-Story, Van Belle had researched the possibility of a museum dedicated to fries, and was encouraged to open the Frietmuseum after discovering that no similar museum existed elsewhere.
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Description
The Frietmuseum is located in the Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
Saaihalle (former wool hall) at Vlamingstraat 33. This is one of the oldest buildings in the World Heritage listed historic centre of Bruges and dates back to 1399, with an annexe added shortly afterwards.[
The museum is spread across three floors. Exhibits on the ground floor trace the history of potatoes, beginning in ]Peru
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, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = National seal
, national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
c.8000BC. The first floor details the history of fries, and their origins in Belgium. The basement of the building houses a cafe.[ Exhibits include photographs, artwork, historical ]potato peeler
A peeler (vegetable scraper) is a kitchen tool, a distinct type of kitchen knife, consisting of a metal blade with a slot with a sharp edge attached to a handle, used to remove the outer layer (the "skin" or "peel") of some vegetables such as ...
s and chip-making machines, and a video outlining how to make perfect fries.
Building
The building is housed in the Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
Saaihalle (former wool hall). The building dates back to 1399, was extended as the residence of the Consul of Genoa in 1441, used by weavers from 1578 to 1750, and has since served variously as an inn, café, cinema, dancehall, and since 1978 as a bank and exhibition space.
See also
* National Heritage Site (Belgium)
References
External links
* {{Official, http://www.frietmuseum.be/en/ (in English)
Museums in Bruges
Museums established in 2008
2008 establishments in Belgium
Potato museums
French fries