The City Museum of Zutphen is a cultural history museum which collects the history of Zutphen and De Graafschap (now the Achterhoek) and visualises it creatively. Discover “The Story of Zutphen”—one of the oldest cities in the Netherlands—through extraordinary items from the museological, archaeological and archive collections.

The collection

Descend into the vaulted, medieval cellar and step into the turbulent history of the place that developed into the city of Zutphen. An important event in this development was the Viking attack in 882, which is exhibited like a crime scene. This walk through time alternates between highs and lows, such as the Hanze period—which gave Zutphen the nickname De Rijkste (the richest)—and the violent Eighty Years’ War. It shows the splendour of the nobility of Gelderland, including the famous “Zutphen Silver”, as well as the devastation of the Second World War. Among the collection are some of the oldest items in the Netherlands, such as the oldest watch (the Zutphen quadrant from 1300), the oldest comic strip (the reminder and complaint letter from 1493) and the oldest photograph, from 1839.

Exhibitions

In addition to the permanent collection, the City Museum of Zutphen also devotes attention to historical and topical subjects, old masters and local talent in stimulating temporary exhibitions. For an overview of the current exhibitions, visit www.museazutphen.nl

The temporary exhibitions include a range of activities, consisting of workshops, lectures and guided tours.

Zutphen Museums offer more

Together with the City Museum of Zutphen, Museum Henriette Polak is housed in the 17th-century city palace, the Hof van Heeckeren. This beautiful city palace is an attraction in its own right. Just the entrance is worth the visit: the Schelpenpoort (Shell Gate) from 1697, decorated with melted glass, sintered stone and exotic shells. The Schelpenpoort leads to the museum garden. On the right is the entrance to the Zutphen Museums, on the left is the museum cafe.

The Zutphen Museums are happy to offer visitors extra service. For example, there are free audio tours available, and the museum offers free Wi-Fi. There are free treasure hunts available for children to teach them about both museums and the core collections in a playful way.

Enjoy shopping in the museum store or enjoy a great cup of coffee or a delicious lunch in the museum cafe or, in the summer, on the terrace in the garden.

Zutphen Museums

Museum Henriette Polak is part of the Zutphen Museums | City Museum of Zutphen & Museum Henriette Polak. History, cultural history, visual arts and current affairs come together here in a unique way. Make sure to take a look at the page of the Museum Henriette Polak, the museum for contemporary classical painting and sculpting in the Netherlands.

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