National Maritime Museum

If you like boats, you’re going to love the National Maritime Museum. In this museum, you will learn how the maritime history of the Netherlands helped shape the country into what it is today. The Museum aims to educate about 500 years of maritime history. The museum is perfectly fitted for a younger audience as there is a replica of an old sailing vessel ‘The East Indiaman Amsterdam’ that you can actually board. Throughout the museum, you’ll find lots of interactive elements, especially fun for kids.

But also for adults, there’s a lot to discover in the National Maritime Museum. The absolute showpiece of the Museum is the Royal Barge. Furthermore, in the museum, you’ll find a vast collection of;

• Paintings
• Ship parts
• Instruments
• Weapons
• Ship models
• Naval maps
• Furniture
• Technical models
• Scale Models
• Ship parts
• More…

Just like other European countries, the Dutch started exploring the world by sea in the 16th century. On these dangerous journeys, they were on a quest for prosperity. They started trading exotic products, like spices, cotton and gold. In the Maritime Museum, you can go back in time and find out what it must have been like living in that time. You can board a replica of a ship that sunk in 1749, to get an idea of what it must be like exploring the world in a sailing ship.

Although the Netherlands and the rest of Europe were profiting hugely in the 16th and 17th centuries from the import and export to these ‘new’ countries, those countries themselves were not equally growing in prosperity. On the contrary; countries were often colonized and exploited. It was a violent time when humanity was put aside in favour of welfare. The role of The Netherlands in slavery is often referred to as a black page in the country’s history. A side of the story that will also be told in the National Maritime Museum.

Also check out the the following museums: