Nederlands Openluchtmuseum

The Nederlands Openluchtmuseum is an open-air museum near Arnhem ( Netherlands ). It provides an overview of life in the Netherlands over the past 350 years.

Entrance to the Nederlands Openluchtmuseum

history

Farm with mill

In 1912, some people from Arnhem came together to preserve the diversity of rural traditions in the Netherlands, which was threatened by advancing industrialization. They began to rebuild the de Waterberg manor. In 1918 the museum was opened with the first six houses.

During the Second World War , some houses were used as shelters for resistance fighters and evacuees. In the course of the fighting, several houses were destroyed and valuable collections of old costumes and furniture were destroyed.

In 1987 the museum threatened to close due to a lack of visitors. Since then, efforts have been made to ensure a lively presentation. A highlight of this development was the opening of the tram in 1996. There are also exhibitions, for example about the Moluccas .

In 2005 the Nederlands Openluchtmuseum was named European Museum of the Year.

building

House ensemble

Around 80 houses can be viewed in the largest and oldest Dutch open-air museum. In addition to several farms and cottages from all over the country, various workshops and businesses (including a steam dairy, a shipyard and a brewery), a church from Zeeland and a small town with merchants' houses, corner shops and canals can be visited. A tram like the one used in Arnhem before the Second World War runs between the individual groups of houses .

The history of the Netherlands can be experienced interactively in the so-called Hollandrama .

In the main season many houses are inhabited and the businesses are managed. Several restaurants are open. On a children's farm, children can understand rural life a hundred years ago.