In and around the Hanseatic cities, you’ll find the best Dutch museums focused on several interesting topics: the
museum for Modern Realism, the Icon Museum , the Kröller-Müller museum with Van Gogh, Mondrian and Rauch, the
sculpture garden at Castle Nijenhuis, Library De Librije (one of the oldest in the world), a Bakery Museum, and a Toy
Museum. We’re proud of our cultural heritage, such as De Waag in Deventer and the Netherlands’ oldest stone house,
the city beer house De Waag in Doesburg (the oldest bar in the Netherlands), and the original city plan for a fortified city,
Elburg with its ramparts and casemates.
Het Waaggebouw in the Hanseatic City of Deventer
This is now the location of Deventer’s History Museum, which gives an overview of the most important events in this city. It’s one of the oldest weighing houses in the country. It was built in 1528 and is one of Deventer’s icons. Fair trade was important, and therefore sizes and weights needed to be monitored. It was an important source of income for Deventer during its heyday in the 14thand 15thcenturies. Het Waaggebouw is at the centre of the Brink, Deventer’s city square. Next to the Historic Museum you’ll find the Tourist Office.


Museum De Fundatie
A remarkable site in the centre of this historical city is home to a neoclassical building from 1841, which once served as Palace of Justice and has been a museum since 2005. A spectacular ellipse-shaped structure has been placed atop the classic main building. It’s called ‘The Eye’ or ‘The Cloud’ and is covered with blue ceramic tiles.The international collection of Museum De Fundatie consists of ancient art, modern and contemporary art, craftwork (glass, ceramic and furniture, mainly from the 17th, 19thand the first half of the 20thcentury), non-Western art and a small ethnographic collection. The museum owns a large collection of visual art than can also be seen at a second location, Nijenhuis Castle.
Waanders in de Broeren in Zwolle
It’s so much more than just a bookshop. Because of its location – a former monumental church – it’s now known as ‘the most beautiful bookshop in the Netherlands’. Visitors are always surprised by the changing collections of books and gifts as well as the readings or concerts and the good food and drinks available in the brasserie. A visit to this bookshop is an experience in itself and essential during your visit to Zwolle.


The Kröller-Müller museum
Situated in the middle of a beautiful nature reserve, a unique combination of art, nature and architecture. The second home of Vincent van Gogh owns the second-largest collection of Van Gogh’s artwork in the world. That’s nearly 90 paintings and 180 drawings in addition to masterpieces by Picasso, Monet, Seurat, and Mondrian.The 25-hectare sculpture garden next to the museum is one of the largest in Europe. It features 160 sculptures by, among others, Maillol, Rodin, Moore, and Dubuffet.