Rijksmuseum Twenthe

Current exhibitions

About the museum

The museum is the life’s work of Enschede textile manufacturer Jan Bernard van Heek, who wanted to make art accessible to everyone. He donated his painting collection and the funds for a museum building to the Dutch state; after his death, his wife Edwina and the family carried the project forward. In 1930, Rijksmuseum Twenthe opened on Lasondersingel in a building designed by Karel Muller and Anton Beudt, which is now a national monument.

The collection grew from around 80 objects at the start to more than 9,000 today. In the 1960s, paintings from the Golden Age and the 19th century were added, along with hundreds of pieces of Delftware; later came a large bequest of prints, drawings, and books, a silver collection on long-term loan, and the Art & Project / depot VBVR collection with around a thousand works of international art from the second half of the 20th century.

In 1994 the museum became an independent foundation. By 1996, Ben van Berkel had added an exhibition hall and a light-filled museum café, and Lodewijk Baljon redesigned the garden, which won an award from the American Society of Landscape Architects in 2004. During the fireworks disaster in the neighboring district of Roombeek in 2000, the building was badly damaged and remained closed until 2002. Since 2020 the inner garden, as the “Groene Lab,” has been a place for art and nature.

Today the museum combines its treasure rooms with exhibitions on social questions such as nature, identity, and technology. It is run by a joint management team together with De Museumfabriek.

Highlights

• “De Schatkamers”: medieval altar art, landscapes, portrait gallery, silver, and genre painting
• Art & Project / depot VBVR collection with around 1,000 works from the second half of the 20th century
• Installation “Calculating Empires” by Kate Crawford and Vladan Joler
• Museum building from 1930 with an extension by Ben van Berkel
• Award-winning museum garden with the “Groene Lab” and Elspeth Diederix’s Sottobosco garden

Permanent exhibitions

• De Schatkamers – Highlights of the collection in six treasure rooms: Middle Ages, landscape, flowers, portraiture, silver, and genre painting.
• Ik, de ander & de aarde – A collection presentation on how images and stories shape our self-image and our relationship with other people and nature – from 18th-century satirical prints to Jonas Staal and Constant.

Founded

1930

Operated by

Stichting Rijksmuseum Twenthe

Director

Caroline Breunesse

Visitors per year

approx. 53,562 (2025)

Admission & discounts

Free admission: December 26 and 31 (open until 16:00)

Free with the Museumkaart; also free with the VriendenLoterij VIP card (one person per card), for members of the Vereniging Rembrandt, with an ICOM card, for Friends, Business Club and Young RMT members, and for Friends of the Rijssens Museum.

Accessibility

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

Platform lift without handrails next to the stairs at the main entrance (doorbell to the left of the stairs, ticket desk 053-2012027); doors do not open automatically. Two loaner wheelchairs without reservation, folding stools, wheelchair-accessible coat check with low lockers. Two accessible parking spaces at the main entrance. Sensory tours for people with visual impairments by arrangement. The café is wheelchair-accessible, but not via the inner garden.

Kids & families

• Stroller-friendly

Children and teens up to age 17 free. Strollers are allowed; baby carriers must be left at the coat check. During the fall school holidays 2026, workshops on the exhibition “In het veld” (€5 plus admission).

Getting there & parking

By car via the A35, exit 26 Enschede West, then follow signs for “Centrum” and “Parkeren musea Roombeek”; alternatively via the A1 and N737.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Museum shop
• Coat check
• Lockers

Museum café in Ben van Berkel’s extension with a terrace in the inner garden (Tue–Sun 10:00–17:00), also accessible without a museum ticket; museum shop.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Corporate events
• Weddings / ceremonies

The Gobelinzaal, museum café, and inner garden are available for receptions, conferences, and celebrations; weddings can be held at the museum.

Plan your visit