Maritime Museum Rotterdam, Maritime museum in Rotterdam, Netherlands
The Maritime Museum Rotterdam is a maritime museum that collects and displays around 850,000 objects. The collection spans six centuries and includes ships, sea charts, scale models, and navigation instruments.
The museum was founded in 1874 to preserve Dutch maritime heritage and naval history. It grew from the desire to document the important role shipping played in the country's past.
The collection reflects how shipping shaped Rotterdam and Dutch life, from trade routes to shipbuilding traditions that still matter today. Visitors can see how the sea influenced the way people worked and lived across generations.
The museum is located at Leuvehaven 1 and opens Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The building is fully accessible for wheelchairs and easy to reach.
The museum holds the Mataró model, the oldest known ship model in Europe, dating back to the Middle Ages. This rare artifact reveals how people designed and built ships long before modern times.
Location: Rotterdam
Inception: 1873
Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible
Address: Leuvehaven 1
Opening Hours: Tuesday-Sunday 10:00-17:00
Phone: +31104132680
Website: http://maritiemmuseum.nl/home
GPS coordinates: 51.91763,4.48189
Latest update: December 6, 2025 17:41
Marine museums present the history of seafaring, scientific exploration of the oceans, and the diversity of marine life. These institutions display ship models, nautical instruments, aquariums with living sea creatures, and exhibitions about oceanography. Visitors learn about historical voyages of discovery, modern ocean research, and the protection of marine ecosystems. Notable examples include the Oceanogràfic in Valencia with its various marine biotopes, the National Maritime Museum in Amsterdam with its collection on Dutch naval history, and the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco, founded in 1910. The Maritime Museum of San Diego preserves historic vessels, while the Museum of Oceanography in Sopot documents Baltic Sea research. These museums combine scientific education with the fascination for seas and oceans.
Rotterdam showcases a diverse collection of tourist attractions that reflect the city's transformation into a modern European metropolis. The rebuilt city center features contemporary architectural landmarks such as the Cube Houses, the Erasmus Bridge spanning the Nieuwe Maas river, and the Euromast observation tower rising 185 meters above the urban landscape. The Markthal, a covered market hall opened in 2014, combines commercial activity with residential space under a large horseshoe arch decorated with digital artwork. Museum Park houses several cultural institutions, including the Kunsthal exhibition building and the Boijmans Van Beuningen museum, which displays Dutch and European paintings from medieval times to the present day. The city's attractions extend beyond architecture and museums to include green spaces and specialized venues. Het Park, designed in 1852, provides 19 hectares of landscaped gardens along the riverbank, while Kralingse Plas offers a 100-hectare artificial lake surrounded by forest for outdoor recreation. Rotterdam Zoo, the largest animal park in the Netherlands, presents more than 180 species across themed habitats, including an oceanarium. The Maritime Museum documents the city's development as Europe's largest port through collections of ships, navigation instruments and port equipment. These attractions together present Rotterdam as a destination where historical maritime heritage meets contemporary urban development.
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Kasteel Bulgersteyn
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Robecotoren
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