STAM Ghent City Museum

STAM Ghent City Museum tells the story of Ghent from inside a striking architectural combination of a 14th-century abbey, a 17th-century convent and a new 21st-century building. That layered setting is itself a small history lesson, showing how the city has kept building on top of its own past.

Where does the collection come from?

The roots of the museum's holdings go back to 1833, when the Oudheidkundig Museum van de Bijloke was founded in Ghent. In 1928 the collection moved into the Bijloke abbey, giving rise to the name Bijlokemuseum, under which it operated for most of the 20th century. That museum closed its doors on 11 September 2005, and after years of preparation its collection formed the foundation for STAM, which opened on 9 October 2010 as Ghent's new city museum.

What is on display?

The core of the collection consists of objects originally commissioned by Ghent's city council, its guilds, associations and charitable institutions — items tied directly to centuries of civic life. Highlights include silver bodebussen (messenger badges), the tabard of a herald, and a unique ensemble of processional torches and standards belonging to the craft guilds. Among the most valuable pieces are a fifteenth-century battle standard, a series of hallmark plates from Ghent's silversmiths, the oldest surviving designs of the city's town hall and belfry, a prayerbook illuminated with miniatures by Joris Hoefnagel, and a series of seventeenth-century history paintings.

How is the exhibition structured?

STAM's permanent exhibition takes visitors chronologically through Ghent's history, from its medieval origins to the present day. Traditional artefacts are combined with interactive multimedia installations, so the museum's narrative covers not only the past but also the city's present and the questions shaping its future.

Where is it and when can you visit?

The museum stands at coordinates 51.04361, 3.71722, in the heart of Ghent. It is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 9:00 to 17:00, and on Saturdays and Sundays from 9:00 to 18:00. For enquiries, the museum can be reached by phone at +32 493 40 13 80.

Frequently asked questions

Does STAM only cover history, or also present-day Ghent? The permanent exhibition runs chronologically from the Middle Ages through to the present, and also touches on questions about the city's future development.

Where does the STAM collection originate from? It is built on the collection of the former Bijlokemuseum, the city museum that operated from 1928 to 2005, itself descended from the Oudheidkundig Museum van de Bijloke founded in 1833.

What are the opening hours? Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 9:00 to 17:00; Saturday and Sunday from 9:00 to 18:00. The museum is closed on Wednesdays.

Is the museum building itself historic? Yes — the complex combines a 14th-century abbey, a 17th-century convent and a newly built 21st-century wing, making the architecture part of the visiting experience.