Location
Witte Nonnenstraat 19: from monastery farm to jenevermuseum.
Authentic spaces surrounding a scenic court yard, resounding
with distiller's voices and the jingling of glass bottles.
Authentic spaces surrounding a scenic court yard, resounding
with distiller's voices and the jingling of glass bottles.
In 1979 the Hasselt City council bought the former Stellingwerff/Theunissen distillery in the Witte Nonnenstraat for the purpose of housing a museum and to illustrate the link between Hasselt and the jenever industry.
Originally the distillery was a monastery farm of the Franciscan-Penitent nuns (the "White Nuns") who owned the Sint-Catharinadal monastery on the other side of the street. During the French occupation the monastery goods were confiscated and sold. The farm became the property of J.A.S. Bamps who set it up as a jenever distillery. The distillery later became the property of the Stellingwerff and Theunissen families who extensively modified the buildings and the interior. Dilapidation and demolition threatened the distillery complex, after the death of the widow Theunissen in 1971. In addition to the house, although very dilapidated, there also remained specific business premises: the malt tower, malt kiln, distillery, barn, stables and liqueur factory. Fortunately, the property was protected in August 1975 by Royal Decree as the first industrial-archaeological monument in Belgium. The restoration, carried out with European, national and provincial grants, started in the spring of 1983 and was completed in July 1987. On the 16th September of the same year the Jenever Museum opened its doors.
Watch the movie below and see what the museum site looked like before its restoration.
Originally the distillery was a monastery farm of the Franciscan-Penitent nuns (the "White Nuns") who owned the Sint-Catharinadal monastery on the other side of the street. During the French occupation the monastery goods were confiscated and sold. The farm became the property of J.A.S. Bamps who set it up as a jenever distillery. The distillery later became the property of the Stellingwerff and Theunissen families who extensively modified the buildings and the interior. Dilapidation and demolition threatened the distillery complex, after the death of the widow Theunissen in 1971. In addition to the house, although very dilapidated, there also remained specific business premises: the malt tower, malt kiln, distillery, barn, stables and liqueur factory. Fortunately, the property was protected in August 1975 by Royal Decree as the first industrial-archaeological monument in Belgium. The restoration, carried out with European, national and provincial grants, started in the spring of 1983 and was completed in July 1987. On the 16th September of the same year the Jenever Museum opened its doors.
Watch the movie below and see what the museum site looked like before its restoration.
