National monument: a combination of old and new
The museum complex is a national monument consisting of various buildings, some of which were added in different periods. The last addition dates from 2008 when the Cepezed firm of architects extended the main building with a contemporary, strikingly transparent, glass-covered entrance area.
The combination of old and new fits in with the museum’s DNA and underscores the transition from industrial heritage to the present and future of textiles. The TextielCafé, TextielShop and the historical damask weaving workshop are located in the characteristic entrance area. The damask collection with old and new patterns exhibited in the entrance area changes every year. In the museum’s damask laundry, you can have damask table linen professionally cleaned and pressed. The glass corridor between the entrance area and the old factory branches off to the museum’s other exhibition spaces.
The former spinning workshop now houses the semi-permanent Woollen Blanket Factory exhibition that depicts the history of the local textile industry from 1900 to 1940. The spinning and weaving looms located here are driven by an authentic steam engine built in 1906. The museum’s passementerie department, where we design and produce decorative textile products such as ribbons, fringes and cords using historical machines, is also located here.
