Teylers Museum

Teylers Museum is a 1778 in Haarlem (Netherlands) founded the Museum of Nature and History of Technology. The building on the river Spaarne was originally behind the house of the textile manufacturers and bankers Pieter Teyler van der Hulst, who was childless and intestate possessed, his assets should be used for the promotion of art and science.

Every year has about 100,000 visitors the museum. It is on the list of top 100 Dutch UNESCO monuments.

History

The Teylersche heritage of the city of Haarlem was split into three companies, one for religion, science and the arts. The five trustees had to meet in Teylers house weekly, so they had to live in Haarlem. Teyler had invited his lifetime the Mennonite community drawing classes for men ( Haarlemse Teekenacademie ) in his house. After his death, the latter went to another house to make room for Teylers Physical en oddity museums en Bibliotheek (the second company). Conductor was Martin van Marum. The aim of the second company was not only the education of the population, but also research.

1784, six years after Teylers death, the museum opened in that year and the Oval hall behind Teylers old house was built. This hall was designed as an art gallery to the public and is an outstanding example of neoclassical architecture in the Netherlands. In the center a showcase, a mineral collection of the 18th century, the upper gallery (now closed to the general public ) houses bookshelves, especially with encyclopedias.

In the 19th century the museum has been extended to two paintings rooms. The present main entrance is directly on Spaarne was added in 1878. The eminent physicist and Nobel laureate Hendrik Lorentz in 1910 was Director of Research at Teylers Museum. At that time he was already a leading figure in the international scientific community. At that time, the museum undertook studies in areas such as optics, electromagnetism, radio waves, and atomic physics.

In 1996 the museum added a new wing, including a café.

Collections

To collection including the largest electrostatic generator of the 18th century, fossils belong ( including an Archaeopteryx ), drawings and paintings, and coins. Teylers museum also has some drawings of Michelangelo Buonarroti and other Italian and Dutch artists. The museum has over ten thousand paintings and some 25,000 prints. On the roof also an observatory had been established.

On 12 December 2011, the Dutch government has nominated the museum as a Unesco World Heritage Site. The reasoning was the long history as a museum, which is open to the public.