OUR LADY OF THE ROSE HOSPITAL

Originally modest (with a sick room, chapel, refectory, dormitory and novitiate), the Hôpital Notre-Dame à la Rose, built in the Middle Ages, was enlarged and transformed in the ^16th and ^18th centuries, with a more imposing main building combining Flemish Renaissance and late Gothic styles. In addition to the space devoted to the hospital and convent, the hospital, which was then a hôtel-Dieu, included a farm, gardens, an ice house and a cemetery. During the French Revolution, the State took control of the hospital, especially as the nearby porphyry stone quarries sent many accident victims to the hospital. Now a geriatric center, the Hôtel-Dieu closed its doors in 1980. Today, the site is classified as one of Wallonia's major heritage sites. From the outset, take a look at this beautiful brick building with its gabled facades. The museum tour is very didactic, and there are also fun activities and tours for children.

The tour begins in the basement, with a model of the site and some archaeological remains. The remains of the deceased found here are probably those of Arnould IV of Oudenaarde. Twenty exhibition rooms featuring Gothic furniture, the refectory, infirmary, treasure room, sick rooms (hygienic and pneumatic), foreigners' room... are waiting to be discovered. The baroque chapel boasts magnificent stained glass windows, and showcases the techniques of the time, such as humoral medicine: blood, lymph, surgery... Theories totally invalidated today by modern medicine! The pharmacy, where the so-called apothecaries practiced, is also remarkable. It displays jars, flasks, mortars and pestles behind glass... The farmhouse, built in the ^17th century, includes the former stables and a dovecote. You can stroll through the magnificent medicinal plant garden to learn more about the virtues of the different essences and varieties that grow here, thanks to informative panels for each plant. There's also a 1h30 audio guide dedicated to the power of plants, as well as a documentary in the distillery. You'll also discover the first eco-fridge of its time: the glacière, a well that was filled with ice in winter and still has ice in August! Last but not least, it's possible to eat on site.