How to visit Bokrijk open-air museum (Genk, Belgium): opening hours, prices

Since I discovered them in my first trip through northern Europe, I admit that I am passionate about open air house museums.

Specifically, I am referring to those museums in which rural houses and buildings from a region, and even a country, are brought together, so that they allow you to learn about their traditional lifestyle.

Good examples of these museums are the Skansen museum in Stockholm, Vogtsbauernhof Farm Museum, In the Black Forest in Germany, or Ecomuseum of AlsaceNear Mulhouse, in France.

Now in the recent trip to the Belgian region of Flanders I have had the opportunity to visit another of these museums, specifically near the small town of Genk belonging to the province of Limburg, adjacent to the region of Wallonia and Holland.

This is the Bokrijk open air museum, which brings together different samples of rural architecture from all areas of the aforementioned Flemish region, and which opened to the public in 1958.

In reality, the premises of this museum, or Theme Park very ideal to visit with children, it extends over a natural area which occupies about 550 hectares.

In it, different towns of Flanders, not only with samples of your country architecture, but even with the type of vegetation that characterizes them.

History of Bokrijk

The origins of this natural area date back to 1252 when it was sold to the monks of a Cistercian abbey.

It was a lush beech forest where the monks built a farm which was exploited for subsequent centuries, until at the end of the 18th century it was sold to a resident of the city of Maastrich.

Finally, in 1938 his descendants sold the forest of Bokrijk to the government of the province of Limburg, who two decades later decided to establish the open-air museum in order to preserve the traditional flanders landscape which was being degraded by great industrial development.

What to see at the Bokrijk museum

In your visit of the Bokrijk open-air museum you will see that their 120 buildings They are distributed in three different areas, grouped as if they were towns.

Thus, you have the towns of Campaign y Haspengouw, and another town with houses from both East and West Flanders.

You will be able to see houses mainly from the 17th and 18th centuries, but also other buildings such as wind and water mills, granaries, a pigeon tower, and also in Kempen a church from the 11th century, and in Haspengouw, another church from the 15th century .

On your walk you will also see artisans and crafts doing their work or with actors representing it.

As a curiosity, in Bokrijk there are three shepherds You can see how they take care of the sheep and move them around the park with the help of their own dogs.

Bruegel in Bokrijk museum

Various special activities take place in the museum throughout the year.

It should be noted that this year 2019 is dedicated to Flanders to the famous flamenco artist Bruegel, which has a prominent role in Brokrijk in the section called Bruegel's World.

So, for example, until October 20 in one of the farms you can see a large interactive painting by Bruegel in which you can integrate.

This painting is a representation of the artist's famous work, The battle between Don Carnal and Doña Cuaresma.

On the other hand, in July and August representations of the Bruegel's Theater, which shows scenes from the time in which the artist lived, in the 16th century.

The times of these performances are, on holidays, at 11, 14 and 16 p.m., and on weekdays, at 14 and 16 p.m.

Cycling through water in Bokrijk

Facing your Bokrijk visit, you should know that around the park there are trails where you can practice the cycling, and in this way you have the opportunity to discover a curious landscape corner.

It is a small pond of the Wijers nature reserve, which concentrates the attention of cyclists because you can cross it on the route Cycling through water.

It is a three-meter wide path, which goes into the water so that when you ride a bicycle, you have the water at eye level.

Bokrijk open-air museum opening hours

The Bokrijk open-air museum visiting hours They are, from April to mid-October, Tuesday to Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 18 p.m.

The rest of the year the museum is closed, except for events.

El Bokrijk playground In spring and summer it is open every day from 9 a.m. to 21 p.m., and the rest of the year, from 9 a.m. to 19 p.m., and the rest of the park is open all day for walking or cycling.

Bokrijk museum ticket prices

The ticket prices to visit Bokrijk They are general admission, 12,50 euros, children from 3 to 12 years old, 2 euros, and seniors +60 and people with disabilities, 10,50 euros.