Museumpark Orientalis, Open-air museum in Berg en Dal, Netherlands.
Museumpark Orientalis is an open-air museum covering 30 hectares with reconstructed settlements representing ancient Near Eastern cultures. The site is arranged to recreate the historical environments and layouts of these regions.
The museum was founded in 1911 as a Catholic devotional park called Heilig Land Stichting. It was renamed Bijbels Openluchtmuseum in 1968 and became Museumpark Orientalis in 2007.
The museum displays three religious traditions through reconstructed settlements: a Jewish village, an Arabic community with a mosque, and early Christian buildings. Visitors can observe the differences and connections between these cultures while walking through the grounds.
The museum is open from March to October for regular visits, with special winter events and a Festival of Light from mid-December to early January. Plan several hours to comfortably explore the different areas of the large grounds.
An unfinished basilica from 1932 stands on the grounds, originally planned as the largest Sacred Heart basilica in Europe but never completed. Today it serves as the museum's main building and reflects the ambitious religious aspirations of that era.
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