Open Monuments Days – Open Monumentendagen in Amsterdam
European wars of 19th and 20th C. spared historical buildings in the Netherlands. German bombing of 1940 destroyed most of the old center of Rotterdam and the whole area of Arnhem was ruined during ten days of the battle of 1944, but the rest of the country remained largely untouched. The Dutch always loved and protected their national heritage. They managed to preserve an astounding amount of beautiful historical buildings, many in private hands and most of them still in use. For one weekend of September each year, thousands of these monuments open to the public.
Two days in September
The Open Monuments Days exist since 1986 - previously it was a one-day event, now it takes place throughout the whole weekend, in the whole of the Netherlands. Each year the event has a separate new theme – in 2012, it was “Groen van toen” – “Green of the Past” and it was intended to show links between Nature and Culture. Historical city gardens and farmhouses were among monuments shown to the public.
A special publication documents the theme of each year event.
The Monuments in Amsterdam
Open Monuments Days are a unique occasion to visit Amsterdam canal houses remaining in private use or owned by the public institutions but without an established museum, therefore closed to the public. For example, in 2012 nine of these magnificent houses opened their doors.
Monument of the month
The foundation behind The Open Monuments Days organizes also The Monument of the Month event. Each month a different monumental house, castle or farmhouse opens its doors. Visiting The Netherlands at another time of the year, you might find yourself nearby the monument, which is open – consult their website for more information.
Venue
Cca. 4 thousand locations all over the Netherlands, please consult the search engine on their website for the participating monuments near you
When
Second weekend of September each year; in 2012: September 8 and 9
Contact
Stichting Open Monumentendag
Nieuwezijds Kolk 28
1012 PV Amsterdam
telephone: + 31 20 422 21 18
fax: +31 20 422 28 69
e-mail: info@openmonumentendag.nl
Website: www.openmonumentendag.nl