The clock and watch museum is an exceptional private museum. It is managed by Jozef Op de Beeck and his daughter Elke, both restorers of antique clocks and watches. During his career Jozef has collected a large variety of timekeepers which he displays to a broad public for over 20 years.
The museum is situated in an old mansion. The house dates from the 16th century and is called “De wildeman” which can be translated as madman or savage. The house once used to belong to the renowned painter Willem Geets. He had a workshop here. The renovation of the house was started in 1978 and ended in 1983. At that moment the museum was officially opened. Jozef Op de Beeck has his place of residence and his workshop at the same address.
The museum houses a permanent exhibition of approximately 1000 timekeepers. The eldest piece in the collection is a tower clock dating from about 1600. Furthermore you can admire hourglasses, sundials, mysterious clocks, extraordinary pocket watches, top-quality wristwatches etc.
The museum can only be visited with guided tours that are provided by Jozef or Elke themselves. The tours are available for groups and individuals. The explanation is adjusted to the target group. A guided tour takes approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes. It can be provided in the following languages: Dutch, English, French and German.
Because the rooms in the mansion are quite small, the maximum amount of people in one group is 50. Please contact us in advance for a visit.
The following photographs give you a general idea of what can be seen in the museum.
More on photo gallery.