In my last year of uni I wrote a bachelorpaper which involved the Zeeuws Museum, a museum situated in Middelburg (The Netherlands). At the beginning of my research I stayed there for three days, two full days in libraries researching and one day in the Zeeuws museum. But between all the reading, gathering all the necessary information and processing everything, I took the time to explore the city. After sitting for many hours, a walk is more than welcome.
The city has something cosy, I could see myself living here in my older days. All the little houses with their little shutters, the friendly people who great you everywhere you walk, the beautiful architecture, the relaxing atmosphere, and so on.
This isn’t the building of the Zeeuws Museum, it’s just one of the beautiful buildings in this cozy city. I forgot to take a picture of the Zeeuws Museum, because I wanted to explore the museum immediately.
The Zeeuws Museum is focused on connecting with it’s visitors and connecting the past with the present through their exhibitions. Which I must say, they succeed in.
The museum is located in an old sixteenth century abbey in the middle of the city. It’s a beautiful and monumental building. In the first room you enter, you’ll see the current exhibition called ‘Handwerk‘ (freely translated as ‘Handwork’, as in work with your hands). The connection between the past and the present is the link between contemporary craftspeople and traditional techniques.
Throughout the building there are so many different atmospheres. Since the previous director, they’ve been experimenting with different exhibition practices. It’s very obvious when you leave one room and enter the next one. It’s interesting to see all these different things, but it becomes too much after a while. There isn’t a complete consistency. But I would still recommend visiting, because the museum is sure worth your time.
Maarten vanden Eynde
The most interesting room, in my opion, is the one in the attic. They build three gigantic wooden rooms within a room and made some wunderkammers (a cabinet of curiosities). I love reading all about all the different things that are displayed here. There’s so much to see and so much to learn about different histories. The photos below show a few of the pieces that are present in the wunderkammers.
If you ever find the time to visit Middelburg you should take the time to walk around and explore the city. And don’t forget to visit the Zeeuws Museum.
And for those of you who are wondering, I stayed at the Princenjagt. I really enjoyed my stay.
