Princessehof Ceramics Museum, Ceramics museum in Leeuwarden, Netherlands.
The Princessehof Ceramics Museum holds extensive collections from Asia, Europe, and Islamic regions spanning over 4000 years of ceramic history. The collections are housed in two connected historic buildings: a small palace built in 1693 and a fortified structure from the 15th century.
The building began as a palace where Marie Louise, a dowager Princess of Orange, established residence in 1731 and began collecting ceramics. Her early collection became the foundation for what eventually developed into the modern museum.
The museum displays ceramics within palace rooms designed to show how wealthy households once lived with these objects, particularly in the Baroque-style Nassaukamer. Visitors can see how the pieces were integrated into daily life and formal dining spaces.
The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday and is fully accessible for wheelchair users throughout both buildings. Plan enough time to explore the galleries and palace rooms without rushing through the collections.
The museum holds ceramics from China and Japan that often exceed the focus of many Western collections, alongside European and Islamic pieces. This global range of materials reflects centuries of trade routes and cultural exchange that most visitors do not expect to find.
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