Ostend museums · History
History · since 1996
The Ostend City Museum
original name: Stadsmuseum Oostende
The house on the Langestraat was built between 1770 and 1780, and from 1834 the royal couple rented it: Louise-Marie, whose lungs were weak, had been ordered sea air by her doctors. Here she died on 11 October 1850, at ten past eight in the morning — the first queen of the Belgians. The room where it happened is furnished as it was then. Leopold II bought the house in 1867 and kept it as a memory of his mother. Beyond that comes the city’s memory — of the fishery and the port, of shipping and of the resort that ate the fishing town. The museum explains Ostend.
Minimum route
about an hour
Founded
1996
Ticket
from €6
Today
10:00–12:00, 13:30–18:00
What to see
The room where Queen Louise-Marie died on 11 October 1850: furnished as it was then, and the bed in it is in all likelihood her deathbed. The house at Langestraat 69, built between 1770 and 1780 and rented by the royal couple from 1834. The halls of the fishery, the port and shipping; posters, papers and photographs of the resort. The temporary exhibitions are made by the De Plate local-history society, which works in the same house.
Minimum route — about an hour for the essentials
An hour.
- 15 minutesthe room where Queen Louise-Marie died, with the bed where it stood.
- 25 minutesthe halls of the fishery, the port and shipping.
- 15 minutesresort Ostend in posters and photographs.
- 5 minutesthe temporary exhibition of the De Plate society.
Reference
About the museum
The city collection goes back to the Musée Ancien of 1907; it has been in this house since 1996, carried the name De Plate from 2002 and became the Stadsmuseum in 2012. The De Plate society, founded for local history, has its home here and prepares the temporary exhibitions.
The building
The house was built between 1770 and 1780 and was large for its day. The royal couple rented it from 1834, Leopold II bought it in 1867, in 1908 it passed to the state and since 1930 it has belonged to the Royal Trust.
Getting in
How to get there
The Langestraat runs parallel to the sea front in the old part of town; ten minutes on foot from the station.
Opening times
closed for the day
| Mon, Wed–Sun today | 10:00–12:00, 13:30–18:00 |
| Tue | closed |
Open daily except Tuesday, with a break: 10:00 to 12:00 and 13:30 to 18:00.
Ticketschecked on 19 August 2026, the museum website
Adults €6. Students, pensioners, residents of Ostend, groups of ten or more and people with a disability €3.50. Children and young people under 19 and teachers free. The museumPASSmusées is not valid here.
from €6
tickets online
When to go
The museum closes for a break between twelve and half past one, which is worth keeping in mind. Tuesday is the closed day.
Contacts
Of interest to children
Entry is free under nineteen, and there is a guided round on weekdays except Tuesday. The display works by narrative rather than objects, so a small child will find little here.
On now
16 May — 9 November 2026
The priest whom Ostend called the father of the fishermen, and the country’s first chaplain at sea. Antony’s photographs of his funeral procession and pieces from his estate are shown for the first time, among them a lifebuoy from the training ship that bore his name.
· No. 87