Jan Bouman Haus, House museum in the Dutch Quarter, Potsdam, Germany
The Jan Bouman Haus is a house museum in the Dutch Quarter of Potsdam featuring characteristic architecture of this settlement with red brick on its front facade. The building includes a courtyard, a half-timbered structure in the rear section, and a garden with baroque architectural elements.
King Friedrich Wilhelm I had the Dutch Quarter built between 1732 and 1742 to encourage Dutch craftsmen to settle in Potsdam. Under the direction of the Dutch carpenter, shipbuilder and master joiner Jan Bouman, four blocks with 134 houses arose. The house at Mittelstraße 8 was built in 1735; a 1738 specification names the Dutch grenadier Johan Schrage as its first resident.
The house displays furniture and household items from the 18th century that reflect the daily life of the first Dutch residents. The exhibition shows how these families lived in their new home and used their spaces.
The museum is accessible at different times during the week and on weekends, offering visitors access to the restored rooms and the garden. It is advisable to check current opening hours in advance and allow time to explore the entire property at a relaxed pace.
The house is one of the so-called "half houses": it has only three axes and roughly half the living space of the wider houses. Its facade shows unplastered red brick with white mortar joints, white block-frame windows with small panes and white-green half shutters called wind shutters.
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