Gent has a rich tradition of Textiles and Art. The hotel we were staying in overlooking the canal is from a time when this city was the center of the textile Industry in Belgium. There were once 12 Factories here producing textiles, now there are only Museums, and lots of wool shops.
Old Photo of Gent River Hotel
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The Textile Museum (MIAT)
The Museum of Industry, Work and Textiles (MIAT) may not immediately grab your attention, but like most things in Gent it was a pleasant surprise and was one of the highlights of the trip.
Six Genearations of Working and Living
Laid out over three floors you first experience, the lifestyle changes as a consequence of the Industrial revolution and contemplate the changes that are yet to come.
Google Translate to the Rescue
Clocks
How did clocks change peoples daily lives? It had never occurred to me how much these little innocent items we wear around our wrists and hang on our walls had enslaved us.
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Google to the rescue again. I would have missed so much if I had not Google Translate on this trip.
Through the Ages
Innovations of the 20th century.
Modern Appliances
The Printing Department
The printing press is one of the contenders for the most important inventions in history. It drastically changed the way society evolved. A section of the museum is dedicated to different forms of the Printing press. Wood and metal hand presses used from the 18th century onwards. We learnt about litography and more modern priting techniques such as linotype. I did not know much about printing before I came here but you could see the different methods in practice.
@ishtar taking a break to watch a short movie in a recreated cinema from times past complete with piano.
Textiles and Cotton Noise
On the second floor was the textile exhibition.
This room showed how cotton goes from farm to Spinning Reel
It got really interesting when we started looking at the different materials for textiles; cotton, wool and linen.
Water was always scarce in Gent which meant people only washed their clothes once a year. This led to print patterns for clothes becoming popular and the traditional prints on clothes don't last with washing.
Other Types of Materials
There was a section focusing on different types of materials and their uses, from swimming trunks to astronauts suits. I never knew there was so much science i clothes.
Cotton will be gone in 10 years!
The lady working in the museum gave some stark news to us. Cotton will be gone in 10 years due to climate change. Interestingly she pointed out we will be using milk and cow dung for clothes. Today the Dutch are the leaders in developing clothes made with cellulose.
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The museum was very well laid out and there were a few women working there (hand making fabrics) who took a break to give us a tour of various aspects of the factory. We even got to leave a Surprise on one of the Printing Presses.
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