Visit of research vessel Simon Stevin (BE)
Monday 13 October - 13:00-17:00
Location: H. Baelskaai, Ostend
RV Simon Stevin is a multidisciplinary research vessel deployed for coastal and oceanographic research in the Southern Bight of the North Sea and the eastern part of the English Channel. The ship meets the requirements of the various marine research disciplines in Flanders, and is equipped with all standard sampling equipment as well as sophisticated sonar technology for flow measurements and soil characterisation. It’s home base is in Ostend.
Visit is free, but registration is compulsory. Places are limited. Please select a timeslot on your registration form.
Meet & Greet with Marine Robotics Specialists (for Researchers)
Monday 13 October - 13:00-17:00
Location: Slipwaykaai 4, Ostend
Curious how robots can advance your ocean research? Join the Marine Robotics specialists at VLIZ for an informal meet and greet at the Marine Robotics Centre. Explore how these technologies can help you access hard-to-reach environments, gather long-term data, and bring new insights into your research questions. Discuss how autonomous systems like AUVs, USVs, and gliders can enable your research. This is your chance to connect with marine robotics specialists, share ideas, and discover the tools that can support your science.
Participation in the meet & greet is free, but registration is compulsory. Places are limited. Please select a timeslot on your registration form.
Fishermen & German soldiers
Monday 13 October - 9:00-16:00
Led by Marnix Pieters
We start our trip along the Belgian coast at Navigo Fisheries Museum in Oostduinkerke, a museum about the fishermen from our region and their rich, fascinating past. The museum layout tells the story of the fishing industry in all its aspects: from local heroes like the Iceland sailors to the sometimes hard and lonely life of fisherwoman, and the challenges of fishing today.
After lunch we move to Raversijde. On the one hand you will find “Atlantikwall Raversyde”, with over 60 bunkers, observation posts and subterranean corridors. They constitute one of the best preserved parts of the Atlantikwall. Here you can also find the only preserved German coastal battery dating from the First World War, the Aachen Battery (European Heritage Award 2022).
Next to the Atlantikwall Raversyde is a completely different part of the site: “ANNO 1465”, a reconstruction of the medieval fishermen’s village Walraversyde. The site is one of the best-studied medieval fishing communities in the region. Four reconstructed houses were rebuilt with the original medieval bricks and furbished with accurate replicas of archaeological finds. The museum is temporarily closed for construction work, but depending on the situation at the time of the conference, we can possibly visit the houses.
Participation in the excursion is to be reserved on the registration form. Price: 40 EUR pp, lunch included.
Prehistoric dwellings & Roman barges
Saturday 18 October - 9:00-18:00
Led by Cécile Ansieau
The Espace Gallo-Romain is located in the hart of the city of Ath. The museum houses archaeological finds from the Gallo-Roman site at Pommerœul and the surrounding area. The stars of the collection are two Roman boats, a dugout canoe and a barge, discovered in 1975. Although damaged, they have been patiently restored and are now on display. Visitors are accompanied by Rufus, a virtual boatman who tells them his story: he brings the port, the fishermen and their routines back to life,
The Archéosite of Aubechies is made of an impressive collection of archaeological reconstructions. It takes visitors on a tour that begins around 5000 BCE in the early Neolithic, and finishes in the 3d century AD at the end of the Roman era. During the summer season, the reconstructed dwellings are populated by reenactors and artisans, baking prehistoric bread, making pottery, casting bronze, etc. By the lake is a reconstruction of the Roman barge at the museum in Ath.
Participation in the excursion is to be reserved on the registration form. Price: 40 EUR pp, lunch included.
At the bottom of the North Sea: From prehistoric Doggerland to VOC shipwrecks
Saturday 18 October, 9:00-18:00
Led by Johan Opdebeeck, Ruth Plets & Soetkin Vervust
The North Sea was once a land of plenty, with meandering rivers and populated by Neanderthals and mammoths. This was Doggerland, a world now submerged under the waves. The visitor centre of the Zwin Nature Park (Knokke) houses the temporary exhibition “Doggerland, a lost world in the North Sea”. The exhibition offers a unique opportunity to discover this lost world and learn how our ancestors adapted to an ever-changing climate. The Zwin Nature Park is the last remnant of the intertidal landscape that once dominated this coastline. A short walk along the tidal inlet will give you an idea of what the Flemish coastline would have looked like until the Middle Ages.
A short ferry crossing takes us across the border to the Dutch port of Vlissingen. Here we will visit the Muzeeum, a museum in which the maritime past, present and future of Vlissingen and maritime Zeeland take center stage. Its marine archaeological collection is one of the most important in the Netherlands in terms of size and variety. On display are objects from the 18th century East India Company ship ‘t Vliegend Hart and the more recently excavated Rooswijk.
Participation in the excursion is to be reserved on the registration form. Price: 40 EUR pp, lunch included.
Discover Antwerp’s maritime past
Sunday 19 October, 9:00-18:00
Led by Marnix Pieters
Explore Antwerp’s maritime past and present. During the 19th and early 20th century, two million people sailed to America on the ships of the Red Star Line in search of happiness and a better future. The Red Star Line Museum tells their stories.
In the MAS museum, you'll encounter a new tale about Antwerp, the river and the port on every store. Permanent and temporary exhibitions offer a refreshing look at the city and centuries of maritime trade with the world. At the top, on the tenth floor, you'll enjoy a 360-degree panorama of the city, the port and the river.
The MAS also manages the largest collection of historical vessels in the country. Most of the vessels found a home at the old Dry Docks site. More than 50 ships and boats are well cared for in the docks and in the workshops, each with their own unique story. On the Scheldt quays, you can admire 12 of the 18 giant cranes belonging to the MAS. It is the largest museum collection of harbour cranes in the world. The oldest crane from the MAS collection is a ten-tonne manually operated crane from 1884, and can be admired right next to the museum.
Participation in the excursion is to be reserved on the registration form. Price: 40 EUR pp, lunch included.
Medieval Bruges and its outports
Sunday 19 October, 9:00-18:00
Led by Wim De Clercq
During the Middle Ages, Bruges became one of the most important urban centres north of the Alps. The specific position it held within transcontinental and maritime trade networks played a crucial role in this development. Natural creeks were connected with man-made canals, dams and sluices, creating a port system named after its main waterway: the Zwin. Bordering the tidal inlet, a network of outports shaped the region into a linear suburban extension of Bruges. From the late 15th century onwards, political, economic, and environmental factors triggered a crisis in the Zwin area. Bruges lost its vital connection to the sea, the outports were deserted and gradually faded away in the landscape.
Researchers of the Ghent University will take you on a tour of Bruges and the lost outports, and tell you all about their interdisciplinary study of the historical and landscape evolution of the area between Bruges and the Zwin estuary.
Participation in the excursion is to be reserved on the registration form. Price: 40 EUR pp, lunch included.