Zuiderzeemuseum

The Zuiderzee Museum in Enkhuizen revives the stories of people who once lived on the shores of the Zuiderzee. See, hear, taste and smell everyday life around the Zuiderzee as it was before the Afsluitdijk (IJsselmeer Barrier Dam) changed the sea into the IJsselmeer in 1932.

The Zuiderzee Museum is oriented toward the history, the current situation and the future of this area. It focuses upon the themes of water, crafts and communities. This story is visualized in the Outdoor Museum with historical buildings, and in the Indoor Museum with thematic exhibitions.

The Museum ferry carries you across the IJsselmeer to the Outdoor Museum where you can take a walk through history. The open-air section covers 15 acres and accommodates authentic buildings from the former Zuiderzee region, such as a church, a fish-curing shed, a mill, a cheese warehouse, shops and dwelling houses from the surrounding fishing villages. 

You can help craftspeople in the Marker harbour making nets, produce a rope at the rope-maker’s workplace, give the housemaid a hand, or enter into a conversation with the ‘inhabitants’ from the former island of Urk. A number of presentations offer a modern interpretation of traditional crafts, materials and themes.

The Indoor Museum is the treasure chamber of the Zuiderzee. Temporary exhibitions display the rich collection of the Museum. For example, the presentation entitled The Netherlands in Seven Floods - The Zuiderzee enables visitors to relive the great storm surge of 1916, which had major consequences for the Zuiderzee region. And the Journey around the Zuiderzee presents highlights of the collection and personal stories of life in villages around the former Zuiderzee.

The Indoor Museum also has the largest collection of wooden ships in the Netherlands. These historical wooden ships belong to the most extraordinary items in the Museum’s collection.

With history, photography, traditional costume, design and an attractive and educational family exhibition, the Indoor Museum offers something for everyone.

The Outdoor Museum is open up to 26 October 2014 from 10h00 to 17h00. The Indoor Museum is open the whole year round from 10h00 to 17h00, with the exception of Christmas Day.