Musée de la vie rurale et de l'école d'autrefois

About the museum

The museum is housed in Montquintin, a village in the municipality of Rouvroy, which as a whole is listed as “major heritage of Wallonia” together with its fortified castle, dovecote and small Romanesque church. It occupies the tithe farm, a small typical Gaume farmhouse that brings together dwelling, barn and cowshed under one roof. It was built in 1765 by Monseigneur de Hontheim, lord of Montquintin, and became the village school in the 19th century.

The Braffort family later transferred the building to the Musée gaumais, which created a museum of rural life in Gaume there, one of the first museums in Belgium devoted to rural life.

The route evokes daily life in the past: an 18th-century rural kitchen with its hearth, oven and antique furniture; the “pèle”, the best room, where meals are eaten on Sundays and where guests are received and sleep during festivities; and a reconstruction of a 19th-century classroom with blackboard, teacher’s desk, benches and abacus.

Highlights

• Tithe farm from 1765, typical of Gaume rural architecture
• 18th-century rural kitchen with hearth, oven and antique furniture
• The “pèle”, the traditional Gaume best room
• Reconstructed classroom of the 19th-century village school
• Village of Montquintin listed as major heritage of Wallonia

Permanent exhibition

• Musée de la vie rurale et de l'école d'autrefois – Tithe farm from 1765 with a rural kitchen, the “pèle” (best room) and a reconstructed 19th-century classroom.

Operated by

Musée gaumais

Admission & discounts

Prices shown on the museum’s page for summer 2025 (full price €4, reduced rate €2). Free admission for members of the Musée gaumais. Guide: €50 on weekdays, €70 in the evening, at weekends and on public holidays (general rate of the Musée gaumais).

Accessibility

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Kids & families

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Getting there & parking

The museum is on place Monseigneur de Hontheim, in the village of Montquintin, on a hill at 324 m altitude.

Amenities & dining

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Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

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