Volunteer-run museum in Nieuw-Vossemeer about the writer A.M. de Jong, creator of Merijntje Gijzen, and the history of the village.
Special exhibition
Anniversary exhibition marking 100 years since the novel series first appeared, with first editions, stage adaptations by Nap de la Mar, the 1936 film, and the VARA TV series; extended until April 2027, currently by appointment only.
Adrianus Michiel de Jong was born on March 29, 1888, into a poor farm laborer's family in Nieuw-Vossemeer in the west of North Brabant. He became a teacher, journalist, and one of the most widely read Dutch authors of the 20th century. He became famous for the series of novels about the village boy Merijntje Gijzen, whose first volume, “Het verraad,” appeared in 1925 and is set in the landscape around his home village. Because of his socially critical stance, he was long regarded as a forbidden author in Catholic and Protestant circles. A resolute opponent of fascism, he was murdered by members of the Germanic SS at his home in Blaricum on October 18, 1943.
The museum in the A.M. de Jong-huis on the Voorstraat has existed since 1974. It is looked after by the Heemkundekring Ambachtsheerlijkheid Nieuw-Vossemeer, a local history society founded in 1973, and is run entirely by volunteers. The permanent exhibition is devoted to the writer's life and work, complemented by a historic café interior. On the upper floor, the society displays its local history collection.
There is a themed exhibition every year; for the anniversary of the Merijntje Gijzen series, an exhibition explores the books, stage adaptations, the 1936 film, and the 1974 TV series. Every year on February 1, an exhibition commemorates the 50 people from the village who died in the North Sea flood of 1953. The house is part of the network of Schrijvershuizen (writers' houses) in the Netherlands.
The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.
The first floor with the A.M. de Jong collection, the café interior, and the room for themed exhibitions is accessible to wheelchair users; there is neither an elevator nor a stairlift to the upper floor with the local history collection.
The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.
The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.
Book sales in the museum and in the online bookshop (including works by A.M. de Jong and a new edition of “Het verraad” in modern Dutch); proceeds support the museum. The café interior is a historic exhibit, not a place to eat or drink.
The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.
| Good to know | The museum is staffed by volunteers; arrange visits outside Saturday opening in good time by email to info@amdejongmuseum.nl. The museum arranges talks about A.M. de Jong for associations and groups through the external speaker Dirk van de Glind. The museum also offers a Merijntje Gijzen bike route. |
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