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Museums
The Torture Museum in Bruges: the Oude Steen, the oldest dated house in the city, and what is inside
The Torture Museum is in the cellar of De Oude Steen, a house at Wollestraat 29 between the Markt and the canal. Wax figures and mostly original instruments show how people were judged and punished from the Middle Ages onwards. It is open every day from 10:30 to 18:30, a visit takes about 45 minutes, and an adult ticket costs €9.
Staying in Bruges? Our nine rooms are a short walk from here. See the rooms
What is the Torture Museum?
A private museum in the cellar of the Oude Steen. Dozens of wax figures in costume stand in scenes with the instruments; the museum says most of the instruments are authentic and a few are replicas. One cellar room is staged as a dungeon, with light and sound.
The themes are the Inquisition, the witch trials and the punishment of political and religious dissidents. The museum says it also wants to show where today's justice systems still have pitfalls.
The Oude Steen: the oldest dated house in Bruges
The beams of the cellar floor were dated by their tree rings to between 1177 and 1205. A study by the Flemish heritage agency in 2023 calls the Oude Steen the oldest preserved and dated house in Bruges, and the oldest firmly dated standing remains of a medieval house in Flanders.
The cellar
17.5 by 8.8 metres, with walls of fieldstone. Part of it was rebuilt between about 1340 and 1616, with vaults on a stone column.
The name
recorded as "Het Grote Steen" around 1350 and as "Het Oude Steen" in 1580.
The owners
the city of Bruges owned the house from about 1480 to 1533.
The front
the white street front dates from 1889; the ground floor now houses a waffle shop.
Was it really a prison?
The museum calls the Oude Steen the oldest prison in Europe and says it was the city's oldest prison in the early Middle Ages. The heritage studies of the building do not mention a prison: they read the cellar, with its doors to the canal at the back, as a storeroom.
Bruges did have a medieval prison called the Steen, but in another building, on the Burg: the count's prison from the end of the 12th century, later the city prison. It was damaged by fire in 1689 and demolished in 1784 and 1785. What is certain about the Oude Steen is its age, which is remarkable enough.
Tickets
Adults
€9 at the museum (Visit Bruges lists €10).
Students
€7.
Children up to 10
free.
Family ticket
€25 for two adults and three children.
Groups
€7 per person.
With the Museum of Witchcraft
a combined ticket costs €15, according to Visit Bruges.
Museum cards
the Torture Museum is not a Musea Brugge museum, so the Musea Brugge Card is not valid.
Booking
online, with a time slot every 30 minutes, until an hour before.
Opening hours and access
Every day
10:30 to 18:30. There is no closing day.
Holidays
on 24, 25 and 31 December and on 1 January until 17:00, according to Visit Bruges.
Access
a lift goes down into the cellar, and there is a free toilet.
Pets
allowed, according to Visit Bruges.
Is it suitable for children?
The museum says it is for all ages, and children up to 10 enter free. The life-size figures show people being tortured, in a dark cellar. Our advice: judge for your own children; younger ones may find it frightening.
The Museum of Witchcraft
In the same building, the museum's curator has opened a small Museum of Witchcraft. Its pieces include an original witches' scale from 1638 and a ducking stool. A ticket costs €9 on its own, or €15 combined with the Torture Museum.
How long do you need?
About 45 minutes, according to the museum. Add half an hour if you also visit the Museum of Witchcraft.
Getting there from Hotel Karel de Stoute
The museum is about 10 minutes on foot from our door on Moerstraat: walk to the Markt and take the Wollestraat, towards the Rozenhoedkaai.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the Torture Museum in Bruges?
At Wollestraat 29, in the cellar of the Oude Steen, between the Markt and the Rozenhoedkaai.
How much is the Torture Museum in Bruges?
€9 for adults at the museum, €7 for students, free for children up to 10. A family ticket costs €25, and a combined ticket with the Museum of Witchcraft €15.
When is the Torture Museum open?
Every day from 10:30 to 18:30, with shorter hours on 24, 25 and 31 December and 1 January.
Is the Oude Steen the oldest prison in Europe?
That is the museum's own claim. Heritage studies date the house to the end of the 12th century, the oldest dated house in Bruges, but they do not mention a prison. The city's medieval prison stood on the Burg.
Is the Torture Museum suitable for children?
The museum says it is for all ages, and children up to 10 enter free. The life-size scenes of torture can frighten young children, so judge for your own.
How long does the Torture Museum take?
About 45 minutes.
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