Zaans Museum facts for kids
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| Established | 1994 |
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| Location | Zaanse Schans Zaandam, Netherlands |
| Type | Industrial heritage museum |
| Visitors | 56,498 (2013) |
The Zaans Museum is a cool museum in Zaandam, Netherlands. It's located at a famous spot called the Zaanse Schans. The museum first opened its doors in 1998. Its main goal is to save and share the history of the Zaan area.
In 2009, the museum got bigger with a new part called the Verkade Experience. Later, in 2016, the Zaans Museum added three more places at the Zaanse Schans. These places show how people used to live and work. They are the Cooperage, the Jisper House, and the Weaver's House. Another special part of the Zaans Museum is the Tsar Peter House in the middle of Zaandam.
The museum has many old items that tell stories about how people lived and how factories worked. In 2015, the museum bought a painting by the famous French artist Claude Monet. He painted it in 1871 and called it 'The Voorzaan and the Westerhem'. The Zaans Museum helps visitors to the Zaanse Schans learn more about the area's real history.
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What You Can See at the Museum
The Zaans Museum is full of interesting things from the past. It has items that show how people lived and how industries grew in the Zaan region. The museum's collection started with a group that wanted to save old Zaan items.
The museum has two main types of collections. One shows how people lived in their homes. You can see old clothes from the region and furniture painted in the Zaan style. There are also tools and items used in homes long ago. The other collection is about industry. It has items from big Zaan companies like Verkade, Bruynzeel, Honig, Albert Heijn, and Lassie.
Museum Locations and Exhibitions
The Zaans Museum has five main exhibitions you can explore. These are ‘De Zaanstreek maakt het’ (The Zaan region really makes it), ‘Typisch Zaans’ (Typical of the Zaan region), ‘Monet en het Zaanse Landschap’ (Monet and the Zaan landscape), 'Monumenten Spreken' (Monuments Speak - The Zaan region in the Second World War), and the ‘Verkade Experience’. A new part that explains "Old Holland" to tourists opened in 2017/2018.
At the Zaanse Schans, the Zaans Museum also looks after three other special places. These are the Weaver's House, the Cooperage, and the Jisper House.
The Zaan Region Makes It Happen
The exhibition ‘De Zaanstreek maakt het’ tells the story of industry in the Zaan region. In the 1600s and 1700s, the Zaan area was famous for its many windmills and shipyards. Later, in the 1800s, many factories were built along the River Zaan.
In the early 1900s, new canals, a seaport, and railways helped the Zaan factories grow even more. Between 1918 and 1965, the Zaan region became a very important industrial area in the Netherlands. It was even called 'the larder of the Netherlands' because it produced so much food.
The Verkade Experience
The Verkade Experience is a fun part of the museum. It has items from the Verkade company, like old photos, packaging, and posters. The best part is that you can see three real production lines working! They make chocolate, biscuits, and tea light candles. There's also a special room with original paintings used for Verkade picture-card albums.
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Monet and the Zaan Landscape
In 2015, the museum bought a painting by the French artist Claude Monet. He painted it in the Zaan region in 1871. The painting is called 'The Voorzaan and the Westerhem'. It shows a view of the Voorzaan river with ships and windmills. Monet painted three different versions of this scene. This idea of painting the same scene many times became a key part of Impressionism, a style Monet was exploring.
Monet wrote to his friend, the painter Camille Pissarro, saying: ‘Zaandam is quite remarkable and there is enough to paint for a lifetime. Houses in all colours, hundreds of mills, and delightful boats.’
The museum shows Monet's painting and explains how the Zaan landscape inspired artists. You can also see all 25 paintings and nine sketches Monet made in Zaandam in 1871. They are shown in full size on an interactive screen. The museum also has portraits of important Zaan families, mayors, and artists.
Typical Zaan Region Items
The ‘Typisch Zaans’ exhibition shows what people in 1874 thought was special about the Zaan region. It's like a reconstruction of an old exhibition from that time. Local historians and collectors wanted to save the history of the area. This old exhibition helps us see what was considered "typical" of the Zaan region back then.
Monuments Speak
The ‘Monumenten spreken’ exhibition tells stories from the Second World War in the Zaan region. It focuses on the 28 war memorials and resistance memorials in the area. These monuments remind us of events from the war. You can watch 28 short films with people who saw these events happen.
The Weaver's House
The Weaver's House is one of the Zaans Museum's special spots at the Zaanse Schans. Here, you can learn about weaving sailcloth in the 1800s. Two families used to live here and had five looms. Today, the exhibition shows how one family lived with two looms. The house was used for weaving until the early 1900s. It was moved and rebuilt at the Zaanse Schans in 2015.
The Cooperage
The Cooperage is another Zaans Museum location at the Zaanse Schans. It shows how people made barrels around 1960. The inside of the Cooperage came from a real barrel-making company. The last barrel maker, Jaap Tiemstra, gave his whole workshop to the Zaans Museum. Barrels were used to hold butter, milk, oil, fish, and even drinks like Dutch gin and beer.
The Jisper House
The Jisper House is also at the Zaanse Schans. It's a fisherman's cottage from the village of Jisp. The Zaans Museum uses it to show what life was like for a fisherman's wife before the Industrial Revolution in the mid-1800s. Kids and adults can even try on traditional Zaan costumes from that time! This cottage is a copy of an original one from 1860.
Honig Breet House
Some of the Zaans Museum's collection is also shown at the Honig Breet House. Here, you can see how a family of merchants and paper makers lived in the Zaan region in 1830. This museum is located in Zaandijk.
Czar Peter House
The Czar Peter House (Netherlands) in Zaandam is one of the oldest wooden houses in the Netherlands. It was built in 1632 using old ship wood. The Russian Tsar Peter the Great stayed in this small house in 1697. He came to learn how to build ships. To protect the house, a shell was built around it in 1823. The stone shell you see today was built in 1895. Many important people, like Russian Tsars, Dutch kings, and even Napoleon, have visited this house. Their names are written and scratched on the walls and windows. The Czar Peter House is part of the Zaans Museum.
Museum Building and Location
The Zaans Museum has been in a modern building since it opened. The building was designed by architect Cor van Hillo. In 2009, a new part, the Verkade Experience, was added. This new wing opened on March 11, 2009. The museum is located at the Zaanse Schans, in a nature area called the Kalverpolder.
In 2001, the museum received a special mention at the European Museum of the Year Award. The judges liked its modern design and how it fit with the historic Zaanse Schans. They also praised its educational programs and how the collections were shown. The museum's lighting design even won two awards!
Past Exhibitions and Locations
Old Holland
A new introduction for the main collection, explaining why tourists visit the Zaanse Schans to see 'Old Holland', opened in 2017/2018.
Hembrug Museum
In mid-2016, the Hembrug Museum became part of the Zaans Museum. In 2017, some of its collection was shown in two old electricity buildings at the Hembrug site. These buildings, objects, photos, and films tell the story of the former Artillerie Inrichtingen (government weapons factory). This factory was once the biggest employer in Zaanstad.
Kunsthal Zaandam
The Zaans Museum worked with the city of Zaanstad to create an art exhibition space in Zaandam's city center. This space focuses on showing Dutch artworks that fit the classic idea of 'Holland' to visitors from around the world.
See also
In Spanish: Zaans Museum para niños
- List of food and beverage museums
