Centraal Museum

Current exhibitions

About the museum

The Centraal Museum is regarded as the oldest municipal museum in the Netherlands. Its roots go back to the 1830s, when the city of Utrecht gathered its antiquities in the town hall; in 1838 the collection was opened to visitors for the first time. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, paintings, decorative arts and finds relating to the city's history were added.

In 1921 the museum moved into the former Agnietenklooster convent on Nicolaaskerkhof, whose late medieval buildings still form the core of the museum today. In the late 1990s the complex was remodeled and a glass entrance building was added; in 2014 a reorganization followed with a step-free entrance and a museum café.

The collection is deliberately broad: it ranges from medieval art and the Utrecht Caravaggisti around Hendrick ter Brugghen and Gerard van Honthorst, through a fashion collection of more than ten thousand objects, to design and contemporary art. The museum is best known for the world's largest holding of works by Gerrit Rietveld; it also manages the Rietveld Schröderhuis and its archive. Among its treasures of city history is the Utrecht ship, around a thousand years old, discovered during construction work in 1930.

Today the museum shows its holdings in the thematically arranged presentation “Collectie Centraal” and in changing exhibitions, for example in the “Stallen” and on the “Verdieping”. Across the street is the associated nijntje museum (Miffy museum) for young children.

Highlights

• The world's largest Rietveld collection, including the Rood-blauwe stoel (Red Blue Chair)
• The Utrecht ship, a river vessel around 1,000 years old
• Paintings by the Utrecht Caravaggisti (Ter Brugghen, Honthorst)
• Petronella de la Court's dollhouse (17th century)
• Fashion collection from historic costumes to Viktor&Rolf and Iris van Herpen
• Dick Bruna's studio

Permanent exhibitions

• Collectie Centraal – Thematic collection presentation with more than 400 works, in which paintings, fashion, design and city history stand side by side – from medieval art to Rietveld.
• Podium Centraal Museum: Maarten Baas – A clay chair about four meters high by designer Maarten Baas.

Founded

1838

Operated by

Stichting Centraal Museum

Director

Bart Rutten (künstlerischer Direktor)

Admission & discounts

Free with the Museumkaart; also free with the ICOM/AICA card, VriendenLoterij VIP-KAART, Rembrandtkaart, Vriendenpas and U-pas/Nieuwegeinpas. The Museumkaart is available at the ticket desk. A surcharge may apply for some major exhibitions. Tickets online or at the ticket desk.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits
• Sign language tours
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

Almost all rooms can be reached by elevator, ramp or at ground level; only the mezzanine levels of the “Stallen” are accessible by stairs alone. Ramp at the entrance, elevator 140 × 160 cm. Special route for wheelchair and stroller users (at the ticket desk or as a PDF). Some doors are hard to open. Two wheelchair-accessible restrooms. Loan wheelchairs, a rollator, folding stools and EnChroma glasses (reserve via info@). Accessible parking spaces on Nicolaaskerkhof right next to the museum. Video tour of the collection in Dutch Sign Language (NGT), multisensory tours for blind and visually impaired people every two months, tours for people with dementia.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Hands-on stations
• Stroller-friendly

Family game “Wat zien wij?” with looking, smelling and hands-on tasks daily (ages 6–12); during school holidays workshops and a family tour (ages 4+, reservation required), all included in the ticket. The nijntje museum for toddlers is across the street.

Getting there & parking

Drop-off and pick-up directly at the entrance (Nicolaaskerkhof 8). Bike racks next to the entrance, e-bike charging station at the museum café.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Museum shop
• Coat check
• Lockers
• Wi-Fi

Museumcafé Centraal with a terrace in the museum garden (vegetarian); café and shop accessible without a museum ticket. Lockers for coats and bags, no suitcases.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Private parties
• Corporate events
• Weddings / ceremonies

Up to 500 guests.

Tuinzaal downstairs (6–150 people) and upstairs (6–50), auditorium (up to 72, only in combination), museum garden (up to 500, only with a hall) and museum café (up to 80, outside opening hours). Official wedding venue. Contact: evenementen@centraalmuseum.nl.

Plan your visit