Amsterdam » Museums » Funeral Museum Tot Zover

Dutch Funeral Museum in Amsterdam

Only recently established (2007), located in a horizontal modern building at the beautiful, almost hundred years old Amsterdam "De Nieuwe Ooster" cemetery, this small museum has as its subject Dutch funerary rituals, human memory of the deceased and emotions related with the inevitability of death.
The name of the museum means “For so far” or "For so long", which reflects the whole approach taken by the authors of its exhibition. The museum is modern and intelligent - only four exhibition rooms connected by a long hall. Each of the rooms has been dedicated to the different aspects of death and funeral. First hall is about the respect for the deceased in throughout history and today. In the second, the content of seven coffins illustrates the funerary traditions of different religions: Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, Chinese, Creole from the former Dutch colony of Suriname, Hindu from Suriname as well as the individual funerary ideas. Finally in the last two rooms the themes of the exhibit are: our approach to the inevitability of death and different funerary rituals in other parts of the world.

A model of the first Dutch crematorium (The Netherlands had for a long time laws prohibiting body cremation of the deceased) and miniatures of the funeral cars complete the exhibit.

The feel

Simple and clean, almost transparent exhibit. Multimedia techniques have been used to explain things of eternal nature. Paradoxically - if you are interested how Dutch people live today, how they think, how they relate to different religious traditions - you should not miss this small museum about Dutch approach to death.

The adjoining "De Nieuwe Ooster" municipal Amsterdam cemetery and an impressive park surrounding it, are an attraction on its own.

A quiet, modern cafe "Roosenburgh" is located at the museum entry.

Open

Tuesday - Sunday 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Closed on January 1, April 30, May 5 and December 25.
On December 26 and 27 the museum is open until 4 p.m.

Admission

How to get there

By tram: line 9 (direction Diemen); by bus: lines 40, 41, exit on a stop Kruislaan.
Walk right, away from the Middenweg, the gate of the Nieuwe Ooster cemetery will be on the left. Walk into the cemetery - The Museum is located behind the gate to the right.
By car: drive away from the city along the Middenweg from the Tropenmuseum. The Nieuwe Ooster cemetery be on your right. Turn right into Kruislaan immediately when you see the second green space on the right at the Middenweg (the first being the Frankendael Park).
Driving from the ring, take an exit S113 and drive direction the city centre. The first green space on the left at the Middenweg, is the cemetery. Difficult but possible metered street parking in the area at € 1.20 per hour.

Dutch Funeral Museum in Amsterdam on the map