150 years Maritiem Museum: We're gaining steam!
The Maritiem Museum is celebrating its 150th anniversary, and when it's your birthday, you treat! We're marking this milestone with a birthday party for everyone by the water in the Maritiem Museum Haven.
All ships and cranes in the museum harbour are in top condition. The newly renovated Stadsgraanzuiger 19, steam crane Boele 10 and the sturdy steam tugs are under steam and ready for a busy summer of loading/unloading and shipping.
While enjoying a snack and a drink, we invite all Rotterdam residents to our birthday party on Saturday, June 1, during the very first (steam) weekend of this summer!
Family picnic by the waterside
To get off to a good start, we will be holding a family picnic on Saturday, June 1 from 12:00-2:00 PM. For a small fee of 150 cents you can enjoy all the goodies Rotterdam has to offer during this picnic by the water: from poffertjes to falafel and bara. Of course, music and other entertainment are also part of a party.
While you can enjoy all those goodies, the Stadsgraanzuiger 19 gets to work. Tour guides will tell you more about how Stadsgraanzuiger 19 works and how everything worked on board in the past. And what happened to the bag carriers when the grain suction dredgers arrived in the port? Our blacksmith is also working in the forge to make parts for the ships. If you're lucky, you might even get to help the blacksmith! The steam program lasts from 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM.
Reserve your spot!
For only 150 cents per person you can enjoy our city picnic in honor of our 150th anniversary. Reserve your spot now, because it's gone!
Order directly online
When it's your birthday, you treat!
Saturday june 1st
- Family picnic with various snacks, fun activities for young and old on the water in the Maritime Museum Harbour.
- Free guided tours of the museum jetty.
- Free sailing with the water bus (electric whisper boat). Here you take a short tour through the harbour and you can clearly see the transshipment of the Stadsgraanzuiger 19.
- Blacksmith in the forge.
Sunday june 2nd
- Continuous demonstrations of loading and unloading.
The Stadsgraanzuiger 19 is the last working grain elevator in the world. It is a powerful example of innovation in the maritime sector, telling an important story about the development of the modern port and our struggle with technological advances.
The Stadsgraanzuiger 19 comes from Belgium, where a grain elevator is called a 'graanzuiger'. In 2015, the Museum aan de Stroom (MAS) became "co-parent" of the Stadsgraanzuiger 19. Once a year, the elevator leaves for Antwerp to share its rich history with visitors there. This is unique: never before have two museums in different countries taken responsibility for top maritime heritage. Together, the two museums have worked together to renovate Stadsgraanzuiger 19 and return it to its original and working condition.
During the party, our whisper boats will also sail back and forth so that you can watch the entire spectacle from the water. There is also a free tour of the jetty every half hour by a guide.
On Sunday, June 2, Boele 10 and ships will also gain steam. The coal is loaded, the grain is weighed and dumped into the hold for further transport.
On Sunday the program runs from 12:00 - 16:00. On both days you can take a tour of the Maritime Museum Harbour.
You can also find a delicious dessert on the dock. Our ice cream parlor Loeve is open and offers the tastiest ice cream in Rotterdam.
