LEIDEN.- His Majesty the King opened the renovated Museum De Lakenhal last week. The museum opened its doors to the public, 20 June. after being closed for more than 2 years. During the closure, the museum has been thoroughly restored and expanded.

The museum had invited primary school pupils in Leiden to take part in a competition to design a key with which the King would perform the opening. 17 schools took part in the competition. The winning design and its designers played a prominent role in the opening ceremony. The key with the winning design was combined with a second key to unfold the city’s symbol and symbolically open the museum. The three winners from group 7 of the Arcade Primary School performed this ceremonial opening together with the King.

During the guided tour that followed, the King viewed the premier exhibit, ‘The Last Judgement’ by Lucas van Leyden, the collection on ‘The Siege and Relief of Leiden’, and the New Leiden Cloth, which was developed by five present-day artists and designers using a combination of new techniques and Leiden’s old, traditional crafts. He also paid a visit to the new educational studio, where the class of the winning designers was attending a workshop.

Thanks to the restoration and expansion, the balance between various time levels according to the principle of ‘unity in diversity’ has been restored. In the splendidly restored museum complex, one can find a rich selection from the collection of pictorial art, craftwork and history, based on seven core stories. Ten contemporary artists and designers were commissioned to make a radical intervention in the building within the framework of the restoration and expansion. In the new exhibition halls one can view spatial still lifes by the Belgian photographer Karin Borghouts and the work of the pictorial artist Marjan Teeuwen.

Museum De Lakenhal wants to get as many different people as possible to look at Leiden’s past with new eyes. Museum De Lakenhal is an inclusive, hospitable museum that makes everyone welcome regardless of age, disability or cultural and social background.

Museum De Lakenhal is the visual arts, history and crafts museum of the city of Leiden. The city’s illustrious past is highlighted in seven collection presentations, including The Cradle of the Golden Age, Leiden University City, The Siege and Relief of Leiden, and Seven Centuries of ‘Leids Laken’. The internationally renowned collection contains numerous highlights such as Lucas van Leyden’s ‘Last Judgment’ (approximately 1526-27), beautifully stained glass, and paintings by Rembrandt and contemporaries. Since 1874 the museum has been located in a monumental 17thcentury hall for woollen fabrics, carefully restored in 2017-2019 and expanded with modern architecture. The unique encounters between past and present that occur here make Museum De Lakenhal a source of inspiration for all!