Nederlands Openluchtmuseum

Explore authentic Dutch history and culture at the open-air museum in Arnhem, featuring historic buildings, traditional crafts, and interactive exhibits.

Planning your visit

The Nederlands Openluchtmuseum at Arnhem, founded in 1912, is the Dutch national open-air museum: farmhouses, windmills, a paper mill, a brewery, workshops, shops and a working historic tram line running through 44 hectares of woodland.

Its distinguishing feature is the Canon of Dutch History, a permanent exhibition covering fifty defining moments of the national story, which gives the buildings a framing narrative rather than leaving them as a picturesque collection.

More recent additions cover the twentieth century, including a 1970s housing block interior and a reconstructed post-war reception centre for Moluccan families brought from Indonesia — histories that open-air museums have traditionally avoided.

Craftspeople work throughout, and the tram carries visitors between areas.

Allow a full day; the site is large and outdoors.

Bookable options are entry tickets. Current availability is shown below.