Have you seen the renovated museum yet?

With its new look and new layout, the museum is in tune with the times, thanks to a multilingual mobile app that guides you through your visit. Four themed tours are available to learn everything there is to know about the Ducasse d’Ath, from its origins.

The icing on the cake is that the Ath artistic collections will be unveiled at the start of each giant exhibition. In the coming months, the opening of an adjoining brasserie will allow visitors to sit down and enjoy local products.

The History of the House of Giants

In 1995, the City of Ath purchased this mansion and began major restoration work thanks to European Objective 1 funding and the intervention of the Wallonia Tourism Commission. The idea was to establish a museum dedicated to the phenomenon of giants, which are very popular in Belgium, France, Spain, and elsewhere.

In 2000, the House of Giants opened its doors to the public.

In 2011, several objects were classified by the Wallonia-Brussels Federation: the heads of the giants of the Ducasse d’Ath.

In 2022, the museum closed for renovation, reopening in 2024 with a new layout and a broader theme: including the history of the town and local heritage.

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giants invited under our roof

the castle of Cambier

The Cambier family and the timber industry

In 1880, the Cambier brothers expanded the business founded by their father Emmanuel. The small cabinet-making workshop of the early days grew into a modern factory that employed up to 532 workers at the time of the 1896 industrial census. This growth was based on the mass production of bentwood chairs.

The two brothers remained partners until 1898, when they divided their assets. Léon kept the mansion on Rue de Pintamont, where he began major renovations before 1909. He enlarged the building with an additional wing. This Italian-style villa, with its faience decoration on the façade, also bears the mark of the 1900 style, particularly in the design of the doors and windows.

The large bay window on the rear façade is a fine example of the architecture of the period. This new construction is topped by a terrace lined with balusters. At the front, the balustrade is punctuated with classically inspired cherubs. The rear is decorated with busts of characters from Greek mythology. The balusters, cherubs and busts are moulded in cement that imitates white marble.

The Italian villa is extended by a greenhouse, in keeping with the fashion of the period. The greenhouse connects to an orangery, designed in the 1900s style, in the former chapel of the Liessies college.

At the rear, the park was probably redesigned by Léon Cambier at the same time, with the creation of a large central pond and the planting of trees (including a remarkable purple beech).