MOU Museum
Museum in the medieval cloth hall next to the town hall of Oudenaarde, with tapestries, silver and the history of the town.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
The MOU Museum is the museum of Oudenaarde and the Flemish Ardennes. It is housed in the town’s former cloth hall, built around 1300 to trade and store cloth. The hall is connected to the Gothic town hall. High, sloping windows kept light out to protect the fabrics, and the sixteenth-century roof truss is still an eye-catcher. The museum displays objects that were previously kept elsewhere, and also organises workshops and town walks.
For more than four hundred years, Oudenaarde was known for its tapestries, with a peak in the sixteenth century. The museum owns 37 tapestries, 15 of which hang in the cloth hall. Many of them bear the town mark, which resembles a pair of spectacles and goes back to a reclining letter A from the town’s old name. Well-known pieces include a Hercules tapestry and an Odyssey tapestry, acquired in 2014, and Alexander tapestries acquired in 2019 and 2023.
The museum also shows silver in several rooms: one of the largest silver collections in Flanders, assembled by De Boever-Alligoridès and supplemented with church silver from the region. The Vlaamse Meesters project adds digital applications to the tapestries.
Highlights
- Tapestries from Oudenaarde, 15 of which hang in the cloth hall
- Silver collection, one of the largest in Flanders
- Medieval cloth hall with a sixteenth-century roof truss
- Hercules tapestry and Odyssey tapestry
- Digital experience of the tapestries through the Vlaamse Meesters project
Permanent exhibitions
- Wandtapijten – Tapestries from Oudenaarde, a town long known for this art, hang in the Gothic cloth hall.
- Zilvercollectie – The museum shows one of the largest silver collections in Flanders, supplemented with silver from local churches.
- Operated by
- Stad Oudenaarde
Admission & discounts
| Adults | €10 |
|---|---|
| Reduced | €8residents of Oudenaarde, teachers, guides and people with disabilities |
| Children & teens | €6free up to age 11 · Children under 12 are free; from 12 to 25 years €6. |
| Visitors with disabilities | €8People with disabilities pay the reduced rate. |
| Groups | –A separate rate applies to groups; individual discounts do not apply. Book a guided tour via the online form, by email or by phone. |
| OK-pas | €3 |
Free admission: Residents of Oudenaarde have free admission on the last Sunday of the month.
Free for children under 12, holders of the Museumpas and Riebedebie, and members of ICOM and ICOMOS. Tickets can be ordered online.
Accessibility
- Wheelchair accessible
- Elevator
- Accessible restroom: no information
- Accessible parking: no information
- Service dogs welcome: no information
- Tactile models & exhibits: no information
- Sign language tours: no information
- Easy-to-read materials: no information
- Audio description: no information
The museum is accessible to people with physical disabilities, and the rooms can be reached by lift. The tapestry room is only accessible by platform lift; report this at reception so that an attendant can operate the lift.
Kids & families
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Getting there & parking
By public transit
Station Oudenaarde · 10-min walk
Oudenaarde station is about a 10-minute walk from the town hall.
By car
Parking available
Free car parks: De Ham, Woeker and Meerspoort, all three less than a 10-minute walk away. Paid parking is available on the Markt and the Tacambaroplein. Coaches can drop passengers briefly at Smallendam (up to 15 minutes) and then park at the Donk.
Bicycle parking is available on both sides of the town hall.
Get directionsAmenities & dining
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Events & venue rental
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Plan your visit
| Guided tours | yes |
|---|---|
| Audio guide | yes |
| Good to know | The audio guide can only be hired at the till on the day of your visit (if available); you can also listen to the audio guide texts on your own smartphone with earphones. Group tours can be booked via an online form, by email or by phone. |
