Over the years, many museum visitors have been spellbound by the blacksmith’s demonstrations in the historical Neeroeteren forge. Using just his furnace, a water barrel and the anvil, the blacksmith shows off his craftsmanship. To animate this experience even when the blacksmith can't be here, Bokrijk has sought and found an innovative solution for the forge.
Bokrijk feels that because of its small size, packed interior and active crafting, the Neeroeteren forge works better as an audio experience than as a visual one.
So, to showcase this fascinating example of craftsmanship in an innovative way, Bokrijk joined forces with Het Geluidshuis. Just like Bokrijk offers experiences for everyone, Het Geluidshuis also produces high-quality offerings for the entire family.
Together with a company called Gelotology, they’ve produced a scenario and developed the technology (video mapping) to tell the story via state-of-the-art animation. Key here is the fact that the fire, anvil and water barrel are crucial for the story’s development. These three items are of the utmost importance for operating a forge – both in the past, and still today.
In fact, their prominence demonstrates that this craft has not fundamentally changed; what has changed, are the various designs, materials and techniques, all of which have been modernised.