The Netherlands Open Air Museum ( nl, Nederlands Openluchtmuseum) is an

open-air museum An open-air museum (or open air museum) is a museum that exhibits collections of buildings and artifacts out-of-doors. It is also frequently known as a museum of buildings or a folk museum. Definition Open air is “the unconfined atmosphere� ...

located in

Arnhem Arnhem ( or ; german: Arnheim; South Guelderish: ''Èrnem'') is a city and municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands about 55 km south east of Utrecht. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland, located on both ban ...

with antique houses, farms, and factories from different parts of the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. It is a national museum focusing on the culture associated with the everyday lives of ordinary people. It links to key aspects of Dutch history, including the

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...

and

Michiel de Ruyter Michiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter (; 24 March 1607 – 29 April 1676) was a Dutch admiral. Widely celebrated and regarded as one of the most skilled admirals in history, De Ruyter is arguably most famous for his achievements with the Dutch N ...

, as well as the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

, and child labour. The park was established on 24 April 1912 and open to the public in July 1918, over the last century the Netherlands Open Air Museum has grown to become one of the country's most visited museums. Annually, the museum has more than 555,000 visitors.

The Museum

The park is about 44 hectares in area and includes buildings from various places and historical periods. There are around forty historic buildings within the museum. The museum also has a collection of historical clothing and jewellery. A new indoor exhibition space was built in 1999–2000. The museum won the

European Museum of the Year Award The European Museum of the Year Award (EMYA) is presented each year by the European Museum Forum (European Museum Forum, EMF) under the auspices of the Council of Europe. The EMYA is considered the most important annual award in the European mu ...

in 2005. On-site at the museum, there are re-enactors demonstrating the old way of life in the Netherlands. Among these demonstrations are paper production, linseed production, and beer brewing. The heritage

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

line opened in the museum in 1996. The line is 1750 m long, standard gauge. It has classic electric

trams A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport ar ...

from

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

, Arnhem,

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...

, and

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

. A notable train of the museum's line is a replica of an Arnhem tram from 1929, the GETA 76, which was constructed by the museum.

History

Establishment

The Open Air Museum was created after

Frederic Adolph Hoefer Frederic Adolph Hoefer (14 April 1850 – 7 October 1938) was a Dutch lieutenant-general, militaria collector and archivist. He trained at the Koninklijke Militaire Academie and is notable for founding the Legermuseum and restoring Doorwerth Cas ...

suggested a plan in April of 1912 to build an open-air museum. He came up with this idea after visiting similar parks and museums in

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...

. According to Hoefer, the rise of industrialization and

urbanization Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly t ...

were causing regional differences to disappear, and traditions and craftsmanship threatened to vanish. By moving the historical building to the museum, with people knowledgeable about the history, visitors could be shown how people used to live in the Netherlands. This way, the old traditions could be preserved. The Association for Folklore The Dutch Open Air Museum (Dutch: ''Vereniging voor Volkskunde Het Nederlands Openluchtmuseum'') was created that same month. It was opened to the public on the 13th of July, 1918. At the time of its opening, the museum contained 6 buildings that had been moved in from other locations across the country, including the los hoes, originally built in Beuningen in the 17th century.

World War II

During World War II, the museum was hit with incendiary bombs, this caused a building in the Zaanse buurt to go up in flames. In 1941 the museum was renamed to the ''Rijksmuseum Voor Volkskunde'' (National museum for folklore). During the

Battle of Arnhem The Battle of Arnhem was a battle of the Second World War at the vanguard of the Allied Operation Market Garden. It was fought in and around the Dutch city of Arnhem, the town of Oosterbeek, the villages Wolfheze and Driel and the vicinity f ...

the museum was temporally lived in by some hundred evacuees. On the 17th of November 1944, Franneke van der Kallen was born in one of the houses in the Zaanse buurt. Later on the 15th of November 1944, Nora Olga Marijke was born. Her initials stand for NOM (Nederlands Openluchtmuseum). A third child passed away two weeks after birth. In 1945 during an attack from a

V-1 flying bomb The V-1 flying bomb (german: Vergeltungswaffe 1 "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Ministry of Aviation (Nazi Germany), Reich Aviation Ministry () designation was Fi 103. It was also known to the Allies as the buz ...

the collection of garbs and painted furniture were lost.

Research

Some research is done on-site at the Open Air Museum for the dating and conservation of materials acquired. The Multimedia Library of the museum contains pictures, slides, diagrams, videos, and audio recordings documenting Dutch folklife. They also work in tandem with the Foundation for Historical Farm Research (SHBO), the Working Party for Farmyards Foundation (SWB), and the Centre for Documentation and Information on Regional Dress (SDI) in their research on folk culture.

Gallery

Veluwse Papiermolen, Openluchtmuseum Arnhem.jpg, Paper mill Tram RET 500-serie.jpg, Tramway Openluchtmuseum Arnhem, Grensovergang 1914-'18.jpg, German border crossing from WWI, part of the

Wire of Death The Wire of Death ( nl, Dodendraad, german: Todesdraht, french: Fil De La Mort) was a lethal electric fence created by the German military to control the Dutch–Belgian frontier after the occupation of Belgium during the First World War. Ter ...

(14) Kasteelboerderij - Openluchtmuseum Arnhem.JPG, Farmhouse Amsterdam buildings Openluchtmuseum Arnhem (cropped).jpg, Two Amsterdam houses in the Arnhem Open Air Museum (33) Winkel Zus en Jet, krommenie - Openluchtmuseum Arnhem.JPG, Houses from the Zaan region

References

* Wagemakers, Ton. Nederlands Openluchtmuseum, Arnem. Trans. WTS, World Translation Services, Zeist. Nederlands Openluchtmuseum, 2000. * History. Nederlands Openluchtmuseum. Retrieved on 2008-04-27. * Mission. Nederlands Openluchtmuseum. Retrieved on 2008-04-27.

External links

Museum website

Mecanoo Architecten information
{{Authority control Museums established in 1912 National museums of the Netherlands Open-air museums in the Netherlands Architecture museums in the Netherlands Decorative arts museums Art museums and galleries in the Netherlands 1912 establishments in the Netherlands Museums in Arnhem