On a Sunday afternoon, we decided to visit the MAS (Museum aan de Stroom) in Antwerp. The first thing you notice is the impressive red building, designed by a Dutch architectural office. It is 10 stories high and not only has a number of galleries with permanent and temporary exhibitions, there is also the visible storage, a boulevard, and a panoramic view over Antwerp.
We make our way to the top of the MAS with a number of escalators. Along the way, the Boulevard shows us Antwerp from an unusual perspective through photographs taken by 15 different photographers. When we reach the top of the building we have a 360° view over the city.
Every floor is spacious and gives you a beautiful view. When you look down at the museum square, you will see a dead skull. This skull is based on the plaque that can be seen on the facade of the Cathedral of Our Lady.
The first exhibition we visited is art from pre-Columbian America. This collection has over 400 pre-Columbian objects in different materials which come from more than 50 different cultures.
Then it is time to enter the world of life and dead. What happens after death is very personal and different people and cultures believe in different ways.
Antwerp is one of the largest ports in the world. This exhibition shows unique ship models and lets you deliver your own message in a bottle to another visitor.
You can also visit the visible storage, where a large number of objects are stored and are waiting to be displayed. When we were there, a mini-exhibition about chocolate was being displayed here.
Unfortunately, there was not enough time to visit every exhibition but this will give us an excuse to visit MAS again.
MAS is a nice museum to visit and I like that in every gallery there are some books about the topic, not only for adults but also for children.
Want to visit MAS?
MAS is open every day except for Mondays and public holidays. When there is no temporary exhibition, admission is 5 euro for adults. The Boulevard, panoramic view, and the visible storage can be visited for free.
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I think I could spend a whole day here! What a unique building and those views are amazing. Thanks for the tip!
Wow the view of that skull is so cool! This sounds like a museum that I would like to visit 🙂
Deimante
http://www.sunnydei.com
I wish I went up there to see the view when I went to Antwerp! Looks amazing!
The MAS is one of my favorite spots in Antwerp. The view!!!
Happy continued travels!
C
Looks like some major league funky images in that museum Sharon!
Ryan
The architecture looks so stunning and has a fantastic view outside.