Visit the Zuiderzee Museum and admire the vast collection of objects, clothing and ships in the Indoor Museum. Find out all about the past, but also about contemporary art and culture based on the rich forms and traditions of the Zuiderzee area. Not only does the Zuiderzee Museum bring the past to life, it also provides a link with the present.
In the Zuiderzee Museum you will find objects, traditional costumes and buildings that together tell the great story of the Zuiderzee.
Stories of a rich culture
The Museum brings stories of the people who once lived on the shores of the Zuiderzee to life. See, hear, feel, taste and smell everyday life round the Zuiderzee as it was before the Afsluitdijk (the great IJsselmeer Barrier Dam) turned the former inland sea into what we now know as the IJsselmeer, in 1932. The Zuiderzee Museum focuses on the history, current situation and future of the region. Themes such as water, crafts and communities occupy center stage. These stories are visualized the Outdoor Museum with its historic buildings, and in the Indoor Museum through thematic exhibitions.
Indoor Museum
The Indoor Museum is the treasure house of the Zuiderzee; here the various collections are presented with a modern approach. Dive into a Sea of Stories and experience life on the former Zuiderzee in this interactive and completely revamped exhibition. Find out in Fine birds make fine feathers what was involved in making and maintaining clothes, admire the magnificent and sometimes moving result, and get to work yourself to give your clothes a longer life. Also admire the large collection of historic boats in the Ships’ Hall.
Outdoor Museum
Stroll along the cobbled streets of the Outdoor Museum and go back in time! With over 140 historic buildings from places in the former Zuiderzee region, the Outdoor Museum is a village of its own. Visit the post office, meet residents from the former island of Urk and give a hand with old crafts. Feeling peckish? Tuck into fresh-smoked fish at the fish-smoking shed or descend on the Café Hindeloopen to enjoy the wonderful view of the IIsselmeer. www.zuiderzeemuseum.nl/en