Museum Gouda

About the museum

Museum Gouda was founded in 1874 as the Stedelijk Museum of Gouda, among others by the city draughtsman J. J. Bertelman and the preacher J. N. Scheltema; the occasion was the city's jubilee. At first it was housed in the Arti Legi building on the market square. Since 1947 it has displayed its treasures in the former Catharina Gasthuis, whose history goes back to the 14th century and which served as a hospital until the 20th century.

Some rooms in the building can still be experienced with their old function: the pharmacy, the chamber of the surgeons' guild and the Dolcel, a hidden cellar with instruments of torture. The museum manages around 40,000 objects.

Particularly well known is the collection of 16th-century altarpieces that escaped the iconoclasm in Gouda, along with 17th-century civic guard paintings, paintings of the Hague School and the Barbizon School, and a large collection of Gouda plateel, which around 1900 became an important centre for decorative ceramics. A digital city model shows Gouda in 1562.

Highlights

• 16th-century altarpieces that escaped the iconoclasm
• 17th-century civic guard paintings
• Hague School and Barbizon School
• Gouda plateel, decorative ceramics from around 1900
• 1562 city model with a digital journey through time, plus the pharmacy and Dolcel in the Gasthuis

Permanent exhibitions

• Religiöse Kunst: Altarbilder des 16. Jahrhunderts – Altarpieces, drawings and religious objects; unlike almost everywhere else in the Netherlands, many altarpieces in Gouda were spared by the iconoclasm.
• Haager Schule und Schule von Barbizon – Collection of paintings from the 19th and early 20th centuries.
• Stadtmodell Gouda 1562 – The detailed 1562 model of the city becomes a digital journey through time over the rooftops of that era, with interactive screens.

Founded

1874

Director

Femke Haijtema

Admission & discounts

Free admission with the Museumkaart, the VriendenLoterij VIP card, Rotterdampas, AICA, ICOM, Vereniging Rembrandt, and for Goudse Museumvrienden, Crabeth Club (Gold), Gouds Catharina Gilde, partners of the museum and De Firma. Tickets can be booked online.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: not available
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The listed 14th-century building is not fully accessible, and there is no lift. Most of the ground floor can be reached at ground level via the entrance at Oosthaven 9, where there is also a wheelchair-accessible toilet. A loan wheelchair is available after reservation by phone (+31 182 33 10 00); a disabled parking space is located on the Noodgodsbrug between Oosthaven and Westhaven. Assistance dogs are welcome.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

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

Children up to 17 have free admission. Tablet tour with Mara from age 8 (approx. 45 minutes, free), toddler tour for 2- to 4-year-olds on the last Friday of the month 9:30–10:30 am (€10 for the toddler plus one accompanying person, registration required) and the digital city model from age 4 (approx. 30 minutes, free). Creative activities are possible in the studio. Children under 12 only when accompanied; one adult may accompany at most four children.

Getting there & parking

Main entrance Oosthaven 9 (also the access for visitors with reduced mobility and the museum shop); group entrance and museum café Achter de Kerk 14 (postal address, access via the museum garden).

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Museum shop
• Coat check
• Lockers

Museum café in the medieval vaulted cellar with an inner garden (Achter de Kerk 14): Tue–Sat 10 am–5 pm, Sun 11 am–5 pm, closed Mon. Museum shop with books, gifts and postcards.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Corporate events
• Weddings / ceremonies

The "Ruim" hall with the civic guard paintings (evenings, for presentations, lectures, dinners and receptions) and the Opkamer as a meeting room for up to 12 people can be rented; weddings in the museum garden. Catering is provided by the museum café. Enquiries to verhuur@museumgouda.nl.

Plan your visit