Walraversijde

Walraversijde ceased having a role after the Siege of Ostend of 1601–1604 when a Spanish cavalry camp operated from the site.

[2] Between 1383 and 1413, under the supervision of the admirals of the Count of Flanders and the Duke of Burgundy, privateering and piracy took place between English and Flemish fishing and trading vessels.

The fishermen of Walraversijde participated in this privateering to the degree that they were warned not to plunder or damage ships at sea unless ordered to do so by the duke.

"[2] The piracy, privateering and also beachcombing must have played a part in this, as probably also did the piloting of Spanish merchant vessels by Walraversijde fisherman to the port of Bruges.

[2] By the middle of the fifteenth century, Walraversijde reached its heyday, becoming, both economically and politically, the most important village in the region.

The sciplieden (boat captains) owned the fishing vessels and were the central figures in the village at the top of the social hierarchy.

[2] Later in the fifteenth century, larger vessels were developed which could sail to the lucrative offshore fishing grounds of the Doggerbank.

Different parties in the English Channel and the North Sea became threatening in various ways, and the fisherman had to arrange for armed ships to protect their fleet.

In 1568 the Eighty Years' War began, the Sea Beggars blockaded coastal ports while mercenaries plundered and looted the coast itself.

The finishing touch was the Siege of Ostend (1601–1604), after which, apart from some isolated houses, the fishing community of Walraversijde ceased to exist.

These late medieval buildings have been reconstructed as they are thought to have appeared during the prime of Walraversijde around 1465, together with furniture, fittings, and fixtures.

[1] The museum displays artifacts which give a sense of the medieval fishing industry and trade, as well as the risks the fishermen faced at sea, such as piracy, war, and shipwrecks.

There are further displays concerning household goods, clothing, hygiene, religious and recreational life, mouth bows and staffs, toys for young and old, including a well-engineered pair of bone glasses.