PRINSENHOF MUSEUM – Delft – The Netherlands
2600 2629 – South Holland
The town of Delft, also known as ‘Little Amsterdam’ is a historic town with picturesque narrow streets, close to both beaches and the larger cities of Amsterdam, The Hague and Rotterdam. The city is world famous for its high quality delftware and 17th century artist Johannes Vermeer. Delft and ceramics The relationship between Delft and China is centuries old. It goes back to the beginning of the 17th century when Delft was involved in the trade of porcelain, which inspired the Delft potters to create the world famous delftware. Even to this day, these ceramics are still being made in the only remaining pottery from the 17th century: de Porceleyne Fles (now known as Royal Delft).
You can learn all about Dutch history at the Prinsenhof Museum in Delft – a unique historic building and the former court of William of Orange. The museum has an extensive collection of paintings, ceramics and historic objects. A large number of these date from the late 16th and 17th century, the period also known as the Golden Age.
EXPLORE
City
Delft is a town in South Holland famous for being an important art city. In the 12th century, work began on digging the first canal, the Delf, and it is from this that the name of the city seems to derive, as ‘delf’ in the Dutch language means ‘to dig’. Between the 17th and 18th century, the city became internationally famous for its faience, called Delfts Blauw (Delft blue) in Dutch, as it was made in the colours blue and white. Majolica and ceramics were long produced by several factories in the city, but now many of these are closed and only the De Porceleyne Fles factory remains active. Today, Delft is a town with a quiet and hospitable atmosphere and is characterised by numerous canals, small bridges and cobbled streets that are surrounded by historic buildings. It is now also home to the Technical University of Delft (TU Delft), which is the largest and oldest technical university in the Netherlands and one of the most prestigious research institutes in the world.
MUSEUMS
PRINSENHOF MUSEUM
Housed in a historic former monastery from the 15th century, this museum houses an impressive collection of Dutch paintings and ceramics from the Golden Age. Prisenhof Delft has a fascinating history; after its use as a convent it served as a residence for William of Orange, who was assassinated in the house in 1584. Now operating exclusively as an art museum, its collection consists mainly of 17th-century paintings and Delftware ceramics. There are also rich period furniture, tapestries, portraits, ceramics, and fine gold and silver objects that give a sense of Dutch ristocracy.
Sint Agathaplein 1, 2611 HR Delft
(015) 260 23 58
info-prinsenhof@delft.nl
prinsenhof-delft.nl
