Volendams Museum
Local history museum in Volendam with traditional costume, fishermen's house interiors, paintings and the famous cigar-band house made of 11.5 million bands.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
The Volendams Museum shows the Volendam of the 19th and 20th centuries, above all the period from 1850 to 1950. The association Oud Volendam, founded in 1967, had long wanted to create a museum for local history and folklore but at first found no location. Only in 1975 did an upper floor become free in the former sisters' convent, which volunteers converted into museum rooms; on 12 March 1977 the museum opened there, one day after the foundation was established before a notary.
When the convent had to make way for a nursing home in 1986, the museum moved into the vacated White-Yellow Cross building on Zeestraat, which was converted with the help of the municipality, the province, companies and many volunteers. After the extension, the new museum opened on 16 March 1991. Since 1995 the Sigarenbandjeshuisje has been part of it: a little house from 1946/47 whose walls, furniture and objects are covered with mosaics made of a total of 11.5 million cigar bands, depicting famous buildings such as St Peter's Basilica, the Leaning Tower of Pisa or the Manneken Pis. The foundation acquired the house in 1993 and built a separate wing with climate control for it.
The permanent exhibition includes the Volendam traditional costume, paintings, old interiors, a botter hall with the full-size bow section of a botter, ship models and the cigar-band house. Every year a new themed exhibition is added, for example on the flood disaster of 1916, on Volendam as an artists' village or on local music history. The museum is run by the Stichting Volendams Museum, which is recognised as an ANBI.
Highlights
- Sigarenbandjeshuisje with mosaics made of 11.5 million cigar bands
- Volendam traditional costume, which became a symbol of Holland
- Reconstructed interiors of the fishermen's cottages from 1850 to 1950
- Botter hall with the full-size bow section of a botter
- Treasure hunt and interactive magic wands for children
- Open daily, accessible without thresholds
Permanent exhibitions
- Volendammer Klederdracht – Traditional costume, especially that of the women, which made Volendam internationally known and became a symbol of Holland.
- Sigarenbandjeshuisje – A little house with mosaics of famous buildings, made from 11.5 million cigar bands, in its own wing.
- Interieurs, Botterzaal und Schiffsmodelle – Reconstructed fishermen's house interiors from the period 1850 to 1950, a full-size botter bow section, ship models and paintings.
- Founded
- 1977
- Operated by
- Stichting Volendams Museum
- Director
- Regina Schilder
Admission & discounts
| Adults | €8 |
|---|---|
| Reduced | €5.50Students and young people aged 13 to 17 |
| Children & teens | €3.50free up to age 5 · Children aged 6 to 12 pay €3.50; children aged 0 to 5 free. |
| Seniors | €6.50from age 65 |
| Students & apprentices | €5.50 |
| Groups | –Guided tours and combination tickets for groups are booked through the online shop. |
| Families | €15Family card for 2 adults and 2 children (according to the online ticket shop). |
| Volendams Museum annual pass | €20 |
Free admission with Museumkaart and I Amsterdam City Card. Guided tours and combination tickets can be booked online.
Accessibility
- Wheelchair accessible
- Elevator: no information
- Accessible restroom
- Accessible parking: no information
- Service dogs welcome: no information
- Tactile models & exhibits: no information
- Sign language tours: no information
- Easy-to-read materials: no information
- Audio description: no information
The museum has no thresholds and is easy to visit also for visitors with walking difficulties or in a wheelchair. Besides regular toilets there is an accessible toilet and a baby-changing room.
Kids & families
Great for kids & families
| Kids’ admission | free up to age 5 |
|---|---|
| Family ticket | €15 · Family card for 2 adults and 2 children (according to the online ticket shop). |
- Family tours & workshops
- Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
- Hands-on stations
- Baby changing facilities
For children aged 4 to 7 there is a photo puzzle tour, for 8- to 12-year-olds a word puzzle tour, plus a colouring sheet and interactive "magic wands" with special effects. During school holidays there are craft afternoons with traditional sewing and cutting work based on the costume; children can also make a piece from cigar bands. There is a baby-changing room.
Getting there & parking
By public transit
Weegschaalstraat/Centrum
By bus lines 110 or 316 from Amsterdam. Because of construction work at the roundabout next to the museum, the Zeestraat/Centrum stop is currently out of service; the replacement stop is Weegschaalstraat/Centrum, from there follow the "Centrum" signs.
By car
Parking available · 1-min walk to the entrance
AMVO car park opposite the museum (Zeestraat 33, 1-minute walk, blue zone, maximum 1.5 hours with parking disc), Marinapark car park (free, 10-minute walk) and Parallelweg car park (free, 12-minute walk); covered paid car parks Havenhof and Centrum Volendam. The AMVO car park has 4 public charging points for electric cars.
Because of the construction work at the roundabout, a detour is currently in place; the AMVO car park can be reached via Bokkingstraat. Coaches are diverted to the car park on Parallelweg, and the stop directly at the museum is temporarily cancelled.
Get directionsAmenities & dining
- Museum shop
The museum shop sells, among other things, the blue parking disc for the parking zones in the centre.
Events & venue rental
Plan your visit
| Guided tours | yes |
|---|---|
| Good to know | On request there are guided tours for groups, companies and private tours, also for family-tree research or specific topics. Tour groups are welcomed in original Volendam traditional costume; the visitor information is also available as a leaflet in English, German, French and Spanish. |
