In Rotterdam, more than one hundred and seventy cultures live together, with and through each other. Since the founding in 1885, the collection of the Wereldmuseum has mainly been brought together by Rotterdam residents. The history of the building from the museum begins as early as 1851. The Vereeniging der Koninklijke Yachtclub was the first to occupy the building. The building housed washing and changing rooms for water sports enthusiasts. The members of the club also watched rowing and sailing races on the river Maas from the building. Prince Hendrik was the owner of an apartment on the second floor.
At that time, the current collection of the Wereldmuseum starts to grow. In addition to objects related to shipping, its members also donated ethnographic items from non-Western peoples. At that time, all objects and items could be seen in the building. The Vereeniging der Koninklijke Yachtclub eventually went bankrupt, and the building was sold to the municipality of Rotterdam. Thus, in 1885, the Museum of Land- and Ethnology was opened here. This is the current World Museum. A large part of the objects related to shipping consisted of ship models. This collection formed the basis for the current Maritime Museum Rotterdam.
Wereldmuseum Rotterdam
The Wereldmuseum is undergoing a large-scale renovation what will be ready in 2020. Partly due to the corona rules, it remains to be seen whether this will succeed.
The Superstraat is a part of the museum which is open for the public. In 2019 this part was opened by Queen Maxima. This Superstraat is a street where children get more insight into the various cultures through stories and images. In this way, they get to know the city of Rotterdam better and get to know art in their way. The Superstraat is open on Wednesday from 12:00-17:00 hrs and in the weekend both days from 10:00-17:00 hrs.
The temporary exhibitions are cancelled due to coronavirus. Four artists with a Caribbean-Dutch background would show their work and work that inspires them. And another exhibition about the history of colonized Indonesia is also at a standstill.
Wereldmuseum online
To still be able to absorb a portion of Dutch culture, there is an online exhibition of the permanent exhibition; Roffa’s Creators, in which party photographer Delicia Celik shows photos from different subcultures in nightlife. Click here to see.
Talking about your visit to the World Museum is, of course, done in the museum café. And in the museum shop, you’re sure to find something you can put away at home as a nice souvenir.
Calandmonument
On the side of the Wereldmuseum stands the Caland monument, this is a memorial to Pieter Caland. This engineer is the designer of the Nieuwe Waterweg. He was in charge of the team that realized this project in the period from 1866 to 1872.
