Museums - Musée Africain, Namur

The goal of the Musée Africain de Namur is to offer its visitors a glimpse of the African continent as it appeared to early European explorers and the first colonials. The museum has been located in a former military barracks since 1985 and displays its collection of ethnographic and military material as well as a variety of taxidermy animals. The museum’s history began in 1910 with the Society for the Study of Colonial Interests. The first display was mounted in 1912, but the two wars repeatedly damaged the building and the collection.
The current collection is made up exclusively of institutional and private gifts. Most of the ethnic groups of the former Belgian colony are represented, but many of the objects were made for colonials or are contemporary works for the tourist trade. The museum also has an important collection of weapons, ornaments, and ethnographic pieces. Especially noteworthy in its collection is a powerful Songye war fetish, which was collected in situ at the battle of Lindi in the Congo.