STAM, Ghent City Museum

The STAM tells the story of Ghent from the Middle Ages to the present day, with imaginative collections and interactive multimedia. The past, present and future of the city are presented in a clear and interesting way: from mediaeval metropolis to city of knowledge and culture.

The eye-catcher at Ghent City Museum, the STAM, is a gigantic aerial photograph of Ghent that you are allowed to walk all over. Use the multimedia app to see Ghent in detail in four different centuries. You can discover the historical centre and the sub-municipalities on your knees. A street finder helps you find your way.

Construction, life and connectedness are the key elements of a city and you can feel that in the Ghent City Museum (STAM). Here you can see the city grow and change. Ghent is presented as a character telling its story. You will discover how Ghent has been connected with the Low Countries, Europe and the world throughout the ages.

History is constantly being written in Ghent. At STAMplein, a square inside in the Ghent City Museum (STAM), you can discover a collection of fragments from this living city. It is the place to be for guest exhibitions, smaller expositions of the private collections of locals or items from the STAM collection.

The STAMplein is a separate part of the museum with a changing programme. It is accessible free of charge and can be visited independently from the rest of the museum.

If you don’t you have enough time or don’t feel like examining every single detail of ”The story of Ghent”, you can use a practical guide that will take you along fifteen unique items you simply must have seen during your visit of STAM. You can obtain the free guide at the reception desk before you start your visit. 

Across all museum rooms, there is a trail for children. Children can discover the city as merchants, artisans, architects and tourists. They sell fabrics, decorate façades and plot routes.

The STAMcafé is the place to feel the atmosphere before your visit to the museum or to let your impressions sink in afterwards.

•    “Ghent today”, a photo series by Michiel Hendryckx in the Bijloke abbey corridors.
•    Interactive scale-models and tangible building materials.
•    3D models of buildings in Ghent.
•    History of Bijloke abbey as a hospital site.
•    Fun LEGO building projects on the towers of Ghent.
•    Free museum part with changing mini exhibitions.
•    Museum shop
•    STAMcafé with a wonderful sunny terrace
•    Bijloke gardens all round

Ghent’s ‘arts quarter’ is not only home to impressive historic buildings, but also to quiet green spaces, parks and gardens where you can fully recharge your batteries.

In 1228, the sisters of St Mary’s Hospital consecrated a new hospital here. It had space for 40 beds in the ward, but back then the sick were expected to sleep more than one to a bed. As they say, a problem shared... After the French Revolution, the Bijloke site served successively as a civilian hospital, medical faculty and finally as a music centre with international fame.

The former hospital ward, with magnificent wooden beams in its roof, is now a concert hall where musicians fall in love with the unique acoustics. Come to listen, but don’t forget to look around as well.

In the museum shop, located in the entrance hall of the STAM, you can find a great range of gadgets. Everything is related to Ghent, city life and cities! Looking for something for yourself or for a present? Then one of the following items is what you’re after: books, postcards, posters, games, tea towels with the Ghent city plan, mugs with the Ghent towers, magnets, board games or a puzzle.