Historium Brugge will be “an experience for all the senses”, according to René Tolenaars, director of sales and marketing. Apart from sights and sounds, visitors will also be able to experience the biting frost of winters cold enough to freeze the canals. On the smell question – one that has always fascinated me the more it has been ignored by historians – they’ve decided to play it safe, by reproducing the aromas of the bath house, which presumably involve things like incense, sandalwood and so on.

Medieval Bruges was much different from the preserved, facsimile version that’s come down to us today. Then, it was one of the most important cities of Europe and of the world, a booming merchant town and financial centre. If you think the centre is busy when a couple of coaches of tourists disembark, imagine how chaotic and cacophonic it must have been when the main Markt square really was a market.

That’s some of the atmosphere the new exhibit hopes to bring to the visitor, Tolenaars says, though he’s reluctant to give away much more “so as not to spoil the surprise”. What he will say is that the attraction will admit a group of 24 every five minutes to the central spectacle, which lasts for about 25 minutes. Visitors are equipped with audio-guides, which comes in nine language and in special kids’ versions in Dutch and French.

There are rooms with seven themes, and the Historium has enlisted the services of Flemish film director Frank Van Passel, scriptwriter Gerrie Van Rompaey, composer Nicholas Lens and actors Clara Cleymans and Peter Van Den Begin.

Following the experience, visitors are led through the more conventional exhibits of the “edutainment zone” before encountering the attractions of the beer café, which Tolenaars explains will be less like an authentic medieval tavern and more a place to sample the wares of Duvel Moortgat and enjoy the panoramic view from the terrace over the Markt.

Finally, there’s a concept chocolate shop, rather anachronistic for 1435. But, Tolenaars says, “it would be impossible to imagine the Bruges experience without chocolate”. `

www.historium.be