The Indonesian collection
Among Europe's richest, and its most historically loaded.
F.Eveleens — CC BY 3.0 · Andy Li — CC0 · Steven Lek — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Sneeuwvlakte — CC BY-SA 4.0
A museum of world cultures in the Royal Yacht Club's building: founded in 1885 from objects Rotterdam's sailors and merchants brought back from everywhere, it now holds a hundred and eighty thousand pieces from Indonesia, West Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific — among them court arts, masks, tools and textiles. The museum has redefined itself in recent years by confronting its own history openly: where the objects came from, what role Dutch colonialism played in gathering them, and what ought to be returned — a debate the galleries present with names and cases rather than hiding, which makes the visit deeper than mere spectacle. The building itself (1851) sits on the Maas riverbank with a terrace and restaurant looking over the ships, and the temporary exhibitions are usually strong. Ten minutes on foot from the Erasmus Bridge, and it pairs with the Maritime Museum in one day.
Among Europe's richest, and its most historically loaded.
1851 on the riverbank with its terrace.
Willemskade 25, Rotterdam
The Tax and Customs MuseumThe Tax and Customs Museum occupies a villa on the Parklaan in Rotterdam, and it5 minutes walk4.1
Erasmus BridgeThe Erasmus Bridge is Rotterdam's modern icon, its symbol on every postcard: an 6 minutes walk4.8
Park SchoonoordA small English landscape-style park beside Het Park in Rotterdam, laid out in t7 minutes walk4.8
Kunsthal RotterdamA museum without a collection: the Kunsthal (1992) was designed by Rem Koolhaas,7 minutes walk4.5
Kunstinstituut MellyKunstinstituut Melly is a contemporary art space on the Witte de Withstraat in R11 minutes walk4.2The Netherlands has in recent years returned objects to Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Nigeria after official commissions found they had been taken by force or under colonial rule — and the museum presents this debate rather than ignoring it.