New wing Pieter Teyler House open to the public

Teylers Museum has a new wing: the Pieter Teyler house. As blogger at expatsHaarlem I was invited for the opening to the press on 29 November 2021. After the visit of the museum and the new wing by Queen Maxima, the Pieter Teyler house opened to the public on 5 December 2021.

Following a thorough restoration, the 18th-century building, formerly the home of the museum’s founding father, is open to the public. Some of the rooms in this unique historic building are among the best-preserved historical interiors from the 18th-century Netherlands. The house is, however, much more than a journey back in time: visitors can discover more here about Pieter Teyler’s Enlightenment ideals and their relevance today.

Pieter Teyler and Teylers Museum

The Pieter Teyler House is inextricably linked with the establishment of the oldest museum in the Netherlands. Pieter Teyler, after whom the house is named, was a wealthy Haarlem
entrepreneur. He left his fortune and house to a foundation set up with the purpose of improving the lives of all. A result of this bequest, among others, was Teylers Museum, which opened in
1784 and consisted at that time only of the Oval Room.

Through the long, impressive marble corridor of Teyler’s former home, visitors entered the Oval Room, where they marvelled at the latest scientific inventions and contemporary artwork. Famous guests, such as Einstein, Emperor Napoleon and Tsar Alexander, visited the museum and the house.

House of the Enlightenment

Teyler was a man of the Enlightenment. He believed every person has the right to pursue liberty and happiness, and that doing so would lead to a better world. He assigned five of his friends the task of furthering his ideals after his death. The foundation they established not only undertook to do this by practical measures, supporting the poor, but also by promoting art and science, and the study of religion. The Pieter Teyler House has been the headquarters of this foundation for nearly 250 years, and one of the few places in the world where the Enlightenment is tangibly present.

‘Teylers of today’

Besides offering an exciting historical experience, the house is also intended to be a place of reflection. What is the significance of Teyler’s ideals today? In the various rooms, visitors are provided with information about the Enlightenment and are next invited to reflect on its link with the present. Surrounding a facsimile of Teyler’s will, for example, present-day patrons and philanthropists are highlighted. From Clarence Seedorf, whose Champions for Children Foundation promotes sports education in deprived areas, to Beyoncé, who works on behalf of the Black Lives Matter movement and equality for women and girls. They are the ‘Teylers of today’. Returning to four 18th-century Enlightenment maxims in an interactive projection, visitors are challenged to consider whether they can identify with the ideals of the Enlightenment.

Extensive restoration

Since 2013, the 1,115-square-metre building, consisting in fact of four houses linked to each other, has been thoroughly restored. The ground floor, accessible to all museum visitors, was brought back to the time Teylers Museum first opened, 1780-1790, or the Neoclassical period. For the first floor, open to guided tours from 1 March, colours, furnishings and wall decorations were chosen from the period 1715- 1750, when Pieter Teyler lived there. Rooms on this floor are also available for meetings and educational workshops. In order to best preserve the authentic character of the house, nearly all installations have been concealed between the floors and ceilings. The restoration was realized in close cooperation between the museum and the national heritage sector, the restoration architect, various experts and researchers, contractors and consultants.

Miniature house

A showpiece is a fully-furnished miniature model (scale 1:12) of the Pieter Teyler House as it was on the day of Teyler’s death, 8 April 1778. This exact 3D reconstruction is circa 3.5 metres long, 75 centimetres wide and 1.5 metres tall. Visitors can view it from all sides and thus gain an intimate glimpse of the daily life of the man who lent his name to the Pieter Teyler House and Teylers Museum.

The Pieter Teyler House: practical information

An admission ticket to Teylers Museum includes a visit to the Pieter Teyler House. Individual visitors can wander the ground floor. Guided tours and group visits (of the ground floor and first floor) will be available starting 1 March 2022. Tickets online at www.teylersmuseum.nl.

WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT

Please help us to keep providing you with news, information, blogs, events and reader’s actions, even more so now, given the coronavirus crisis. ExpatsHaarlem is independent and receives no state or other funding. Your financial contribution will enable us to keep existing and providing you our services.  And of course, we are always happy to hear your suggestions and ideas, or issues for improvement. You can donate via Ideal, credit card or Paypal.

Find out more about us, and who we are, or find out how to advertise on expatsHaarlem.

And thank you very much for your contribution.

New wing Pieter Teyler House open to the public

Teylers Museum has a new wing: the Pieter Teyler house. As blogger at expatsHaarlem I was invited for the opening to the press on 29 November 2021. After the visit of the museum and the new wing by Queen Maxima, the Pieter Teyler house opened to the public on 5 December 2021.

Following a thorough restoration, the 18th-century building, formerly the home of the museum’s founding father, is open to the public. Some of the rooms in this unique historic building are among the best-preserved historical interiors from the 18th-century Netherlands. The house is, however, much more than a journey back in time: visitors can discover more here about Pieter Teyler’s Enlightenment ideals and their relevance today.

Pieter Teyler and Teylers Museum

The Pieter Teyler House is inextricably linked with the establishment of the oldest museum in the Netherlands. Pieter Teyler, after whom the house is named, was a wealthy Haarlem
entrepreneur. He left his fortune and house to a foundation set up with the purpose of improving the lives of all. A result of this bequest, among others, was Teylers Museum, which opened in
1784 and consisted at that time only of the Oval Room.

Through the long, impressive marble corridor of Teyler’s former home, visitors entered the Oval Room, where they marvelled at the latest scientific inventions and contemporary artwork. Famous guests, such as Einstein, Emperor Napoleon and Tsar Alexander, visited the museum and the house.

House of the Enlightenment

Teyler was a man of the Enlightenment. He believed every person has the right to pursue liberty and happiness, and that doing so would lead to a better world. He assigned five of his friends the task of furthering his ideals after his death. The foundation they established not only undertook to do this by practical measures, supporting the poor, but also by promoting art and science, and the study of religion. The Pieter Teyler House has been the headquarters of this foundation for nearly 250 years, and one of the few places in the world where the Enlightenment is tangibly present.

‘Teylers of today’

Besides offering an exciting historical experience, the house is also intended to be a place of reflection. What is the significance of Teyler’s ideals today? In the various rooms, visitors are provided with information about the Enlightenment and are next invited to reflect on its link with the present. Surrounding a facsimile of Teyler’s will, for example, present-day patrons and philanthropists are highlighted. From Clarence Seedorf, whose Champions for Children Foundation promotes sports education in deprived areas, to Beyoncé, who works on behalf of the Black Lives Matter movement and equality for women and girls. They are the ‘Teylers of today’. Returning to four 18th-century Enlightenment maxims in an interactive projection, visitors are challenged to consider whether they can identify with the ideals of the Enlightenment.

Extensive restoration

Since 2013, the 1,115-square-metre building, consisting in fact of four houses linked to each other, has been thoroughly restored. The ground floor, accessible to all museum visitors, was brought back to the time Teylers Museum first opened, 1780-1790, or the Neoclassical period. For the first floor, open to guided tours from 1 March, colours, furnishings and wall decorations were chosen from the period 1715- 1750, when Pieter Teyler lived there. Rooms on this floor are also available for meetings and educational workshops. In order to best preserve the authentic character of the house, nearly all installations have been concealed between the floors and ceilings. The restoration was realized in close cooperation between the museum and the national heritage sector, the restoration architect, various experts and researchers, contractors and consultants.

Miniature house

A showpiece is a fully-furnished miniature model (scale 1:12) of the Pieter Teyler House as it was on the day of Teyler’s death, 8 April 1778. This exact 3D reconstruction is circa 3.5 metres long, 75 centimetres wide and 1.5 metres tall. Visitors can view it from all sides and thus gain an intimate glimpse of the daily life of the man who lent his name to the Pieter Teyler House and Teylers Museum.

The Pieter Teyler House: practical information

An admission ticket to Teylers Museum includes a visit to the Pieter Teyler House. Individual visitors can wander the ground floor. Guided tours and group visits (of the ground floor and first floor) will be available starting 1 March 2022. Tickets online at www.teylersmuseum.nl.

WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT

Please help us to keep providing you with news, information, blogs, events and reader’s actions, even more so now, given the coronavirus crisis. ExpatsHaarlem is independent and receives no state or other funding. Your financial contribution will enable us to keep existing and providing you our services.  And of course, we are always happy to hear your suggestions and ideas, or issues for improvement. You can donate via Ideal, credit card or Paypal.

Find out more about us, and who we are, or find out how to advertise on expatsHaarlem.

And thank you very much for your contribution.