Culture

In the cultural field Assen & the surrounding area has a lot to offer. The Drents Museum is known for its sensational exhibitions, but also has an extensive permanent collection. In the Hunebedcentrum you will discover everything about the icons of Drenthe. The National Prison Museum and the Veenpark are not only educational and interesting, children will have a great day out. From Assen to Orvelte, Drenthe has plenty to offer.

Colonies of Benevolence

A unique history of poverty reduction in the Netherlands and Flanders. Be amazed by these extraordinary landscapes with a powerful and unusual story. 200 years ago, in 1818, Johannes van den Bosch founded the Society of Benevolence. Poor families, beggars and vagabonds can go and work in one of the Colonies of Benevolence. They get their own house and a piece of land to work on. A hard existence. Through labor and schooling, the Settlers are disciplined so that they can become self-sufficient over time. The largest surface area of the Colonies of Benevolence is located in Drenthe, in Veenhuizen, Fredriksoord and Wilhelminaoord. The special story and the unique landscape that resulted from it led to the UNESCO World Heritage status.

Info

Memorial Center Camp Westerbork

Memorial Center Kamp Westerbork is a museum where the history of Camp Westerbork is told. The museum was officially opened by Queen Beatrix on April 12, 1983. The building was designed as a former barracks with a replica of an exhibition in Auschwitz. The permanent exhibition Durchgangslager Westerbork tells personal stories about the camp. Various objects and film fragments can be seen. In addition, there are changing exhibitions in another room. The memorial window, donated by the Red Cross to the residents of Westerbork, hangs in the auditorium. The center also manages part of the camp archive.

Info

Prison Museum Veenhuizen

Have you ever been pilloried? Seen a cell from the inside? Sit in the judge's chair? It's all possible in the Prison Museum. Crime and punishment have always existed, but the way we punish has changed a lot over the centuries. Here you will discover everything about crime and punishment in the Netherlands from 1600 until now. The museum is located in one of the old penal institutions that were built in 1823 by the Society of Benevolence in Veenhuizen for beggars and vagrants. Veenhuizen is a special village with a wonderful history, more than a hundred national monuments and five prisons that are still in use.

Info

Museum Village Orvelte

Orvelte is a green village in the province of Drenthe, belonging to the municipality of Midden-Drenthe. The village probably originated between the 11th and 13th centuries. Orvelte presents itself as a museum village because of the many historical sites in and around the village. In addition to the "normal" daily activity and residential function of the village, a large number of farms and other buildings have been set up for the public. Cars are not allowed in Orvelte. In the village, sometimes for a fee, you can see how people lived and worked in the past. Examples of attractions are: sawmill, blacksmith shop, clog factory, grutter shop, workshops and galleries.

Info

Dolmencentrum

The Hunebedcentrum is an archaeological museum in the Drenthe village of Borger, a stone's throw from the largest hunebed in the Netherlands. The museum has a museum shop, a museum café and a knowledge center. On the site of the Hunebedcentrum is a reconstruction of a Stone Age house with the accompanying primeval garden, the boulder garden and a grain spiker. The Hunebedcentrum tells the story about the hunebeds and the hunebed builders in permanent and temporary exhibitions.

Info

Drents Museum

The Drents Museum in Assen has been a household name in Drenthe for more than 150 years. It is a leading museum that annually organizes high-profile and successful exhibitions on archeology, figurative art and Art Nouveau/Art Deco.

Info Drents Museum