Building a national monument

The ARTIS-Groote museum today looks very different in content than when it opened its doors in 1855. Yet entering this national monument also feels like traveling back in time.

Back in time

The Groote Museum first opened its doors in 1855. Ascending the butterfly staircase of the Main Building up to the museum on the upper floors, you would have seen display cases and cabinets stretching hundreds of yards and containing thousands of objects, from shells to skulls and from specimens to whole skeletons.

This is where the zoological society Natura Artis Magistra (meaning: “nature is the teacher of art and science”) pursued its ambition of studying nature and sharing knowledge. This was done according to the systematic insights and classification of that time. Nature belonged behind glass, through which humans could look at it, sharply dividing the two. This museum closed in 1947. In 2022, 75 years later, it is reopening its doors to tear down that division.

Origin of the museum

Establishing a museum as part of ARTIS was a logical step for the founders of the zoological society Natura Artis Magistra in 1838. Their mission was to do research and pass on their knowledge of nature. For that purpose, the mission statement at the time of its foundation included a zoo, but also 'cabinets' with non-living collections, such as skeletons and shells. They started by acquiring animals, both alive and dead. Live animals went to the park, while the dead specimens were exhibited inside a small building. Within just a few years, their collection had already outgrown this forerunner of the Groote Museum..

Member Hall and museum

Membership swelled, and in 1850 the society decided to build a new hall for members. Gradually, the idea arose to turn the upper floors into an exhibition space. This led to the design of the Main Building, now known as the Groote Museum, by the architect and honorary society member Jan van Maurik (1812-1893). Construction progressed in several phases between 1850 and 1855. Upon completion, it was the very first museum building in Amsterdam.

Rediscovery

After the closure, the Main Building underwent drastic remodeling. However, the unique 19th-century museum interior was left largely intact. Plans to restore, renew, and one day reopen the Groote Museum as Amsterdam's first museum began to gain steam early in the 21st century. But, much as at ARTIS's other museum, Micropia, although there was a unique and historic exhibition space, there was no longer a collection. On May 12, 2022, following comprehensive restoration (2017-2021) of this national historic property, ARTIS is reopening the doors of the Groote Museum as its second museum on Artisplein, the park's publicly accessible square. A museum dedicated to the connections between humans, animals, plants, and microbes.

Time capsule

The Groote Museum is located on the first piece of land of ARTIS and was one of the modern buildings in Amsterdam. The national monument has been completely renovated and restored and adapted to the requirements of this time.

The impressive, original butterfly staircase has also been completely restored, as have the display doors. As a visitor, you now walk on the same wooden floor where the members of the society walked in 1855. A true time capsule.