In my last visit to Belgium, I toured the north eastern part of Belgium to explore areas I’ve never visited before. Up north, close to the border with the Netherlands, is a town by the name Turnhout that has an interesting history – it was once the center of manufacturing of playing cards. Because of that history, the town features an interesting specialty museum – a museum about playing cards. That’s something I’ve never come across before so was very curious. It features a historical tour of machines for printing cards, and several exhibitions about cards more broadly. Some of the machines and things on display date back to the 16th century.
A really interesting place to visit for 2-3 hours. Well worth your time.
From the outside…
Walking in…
Some of the large machines are operational, and you can see them at work (see video at the end):
Then there are some exhibitions about cards more broadly…
Video to see the big machine in action:
Location: