Museum Vergane Glorie

Museum Vergane Glorie is a small, privately run museum in Baarle, located within the Belgian enclave municipality of Baarle-Hertog at Turnhoutseweg 10A. It was founded in 2003 by Ad Haneveer, a cabinetmaker who spent years collecting old tools and everyday objects, with a particular focus on wooden implements. Today his collection fills the building with items documenting traditional crafts and daily life in the region around the turn of the 20th century.

What does the museum display?

The core of the collection consists of craftsmen's tools — from carpenters, shoemakers, barbers, cabinetmakers, bakers, plumbers, and blacksmiths, as well as tools once used by diamond cutters and beekeepers. This wide range of trades reflects just how diverse local craftsmanship once was along the Belgian-Dutch border. Alongside workshop tools, the museum also holds objects related to both World Wars, and one of its more unusual exhibits is the equipment from an illegal alcohol distillery — a reminder of an era when the fragmented Baarle border made smuggling and home distilling common practice.

What is a visit like?

The museum has an intimate, personal character — its interior feels more like a collector's lifelong passion project than a standardized institution. The layout recreates the atmosphere of old workshops, including a blacksmith's forge, a shoemaker's bench, and a bakery, letting visitors picture what daily craftwork looked like a century ago. Most objects date from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, giving the collection a coherent snapshot of a single era — the period before mechanization and mass production, when nearly every tool was handmade and hand-used.

Why is it worth a visit?

The name itself is telling — "vergane glorie" is Dutch for "faded glory," a fitting description for a place dedicated to preserving crafts that have largely disappeared with technological progress. For visitors exploring Baarle-Hertog and Baarle-Nassau, a town best known for its famously tangled international border running through streets and even houses, the museum offers a different, craft-focused side of the region worth adding to the itinerary.

Frequently asked questions

Where exactly is the museum located? At Turnhoutseweg 10A in Baarle, in the part belonging to the municipality of Baarle-Hertog.

When was the museum founded? In 2003, based on the private collection of Ad Haneveer.

What kind of exhibits dominate the collection? Tools once used by carpenters, shoemakers, barbers, bakers, plumbers, and blacksmiths, along with wartime memorabilia and equipment from an illegal alcohol distillery.

Is the museum open every day? No — it is a small private museum, usually visited by appointment or during occasional open days.