Noordwijk

The Museum Noordwijk is situated in the centre of town, a mere 2 minute walk from the Flying Pig Beach hostel.  As you might expect the museum focuses on local history through a diverse exhibition of art, photography, and local memorabilia - some of which dates back to the 1800’s.  Set aside a maximum of 2 hours for your visit to Museum Noordwijk. 

Part of the museum building is actually a terraced house that was built in 1625, and was originally home to a fisherman.  Sometime later the house became a farm, before a local family purchased the property and lived there for many years.  Throughout 1986 and 1987 the house was restored, and in 1994 the Museum Noordwijk opened its doors to visitors for the first time.
 
The Museum is run entirely by volunteers from the Society of Noordwijk, which has around 2600 members.  And the majority of the exhibits have been lent to the museum by the society and the local community.

Each room of the old house is dedicated to a certain subject matter, and at the back of the Museum a large gallery has been built so to extend the exhibition.  On my visit the gallery was home to a collection of designs and paintings by the famous Dutch artist Leon Senf.

Visitors begin their tour of the Museum in the reception area of the house, amongst a display of rare De Kroon pottery, close to the nearby front room of the house which is now a fully functioning library.  The attic rooms, which are accessed by a narrow staircase, display replicas of ships and boats that were once built in Noordwijk.  Quantities of construction tools commonly used by ship builders are also displayed.  Keep a look out for the shark jaw - it is roughly the same circumference as a human head, and probably belonged to a large maco shark that became tangled in fishing nets off the coast.

In the middle of the attic you will find a display of old coins which were once circulated as currency, and at the far end of the upper floor you can take a look at some traditional clothing that would have been worn by local fisherman in the late 1800’s.

The three downstairs rooms have been designed to replicate household scenes that were commonplace in the early 1900’s.  Faceless plastic dummies have been dressed in 1900’s attire and sit around the rooms in motionless poses.  The first room, or inner room, depicts a family sitting around the dinner table, while a fellow plays the organ in the background.

The kitchen scene is next.  The room is as you might expect a kitchen to be, lined with coffee pots, tea pots, and a large stove.  Another family sit around the kitchen table, munching plastic food that they will never actually start or finish!

The final room is a stable, with a plastic calf in the far stall!  The stable is full of farming tools and utensils that were used for flower cultivation in the bulb region.  On the wall there are hundreds of enlarged photographs that have captured some of the most important moments in the towns history.

It is often easy to pass through a destination without every really understanding the place you have been; so when you are next in Noordwijk why not pay a visit to the local Museum, and gain an insight into the history of the town and the people who have made you feel so very welcome!