Pinnable

The Dutch are not generally known for a keen interest in their national history, but they do seem to like the history of everyday life, which is about how ordinary people lived in the past. That is why the Open-Air Museum in Arnhem is the second-most-visited Dutch museum outside Amsterdam: it shows what daily life in the Netherlands was like from the dawn of industrialization onwards. Measuring almost ½ km², the museum houses just over a hundred authentic buildings that were teleported from all over the country, and you need at least one full day to see half of it. Last year, after much deliberation, the government managed to also squeeze in a supercalifragilistic hi-tech hands-on exhibition about the Canon of the Netherlands, the authorized version of our national history, but that’s for when it’s raining, which is, incidentally, regrettably but decidedly an intrinsic part of Dutch life almost every day.

When the museum opened a century ago, its main focus was on rural culture. Today this is reflected in the presence of some thirty farmhouses and other agricultural buildings, which all look idyllic, but most of them are in fact rather dull. What makes the museum really cool are the living history activities, demonstrated in various workshops, the laundry and several mills, including a flour mill and a paper mill — it is fascinating to see how rags are turned into paper there. Among more recent additions to the museum are the Freia dairy factory and the Van Gend & Loos goods shed from Tiel (which used to be the distribution hub for the Flipje’s Betuwe Jam that freed housewives the country over from having to make jam themselves), as well as a prefab house donated by the Norwegian Red Cross after the flood of 1953. These buildings often contain a small presentation that not only discusses their purpose but also calls attention to their social and economic context. Food-wise the Netherlands has never been a great nation, but while immersing yourself in Dutch culture, you might want to have poffertjes at the stall in the village square or get Arnhemse grofjes from the bakery. Occasionally, the inn serves pannenkoeken after the museum’s official closing time. Be sure to make a reservation on such days so that you have the museum to yourself after dinner.

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