A world-class museum collection
Our museum collection is among the best in the world. It is one of the largest and most prominent maritime collections in the world and illustrates six centuries of Dutch maritime history. A museum collection that we are proud of and that we cherish for future generations!
The Maritime Museum is located in the oldest and largest museum harbour in the Netherlands, where the port of Rotterdam once began. It was founded in 1873 by Prince Hendrik the Sailor. We are proud of our royal roots and we are particularly grateful to Prince Hendrik for founding the key institute that stores, studies and presents Rotterdam’s maritime heritage to the general public. The collection includes over one million objects from Dutch maritime history from the end of the 15th century through to today. This timespan is something that the objects in other maritime museums in the country are unable to cover. Because of the size and quality of its collection, this museum is one of the best maritime museums in the world.
The museum wants to make this precious collection accessible to as many people as possible. For research, to gain new insights or simply to enjoy them.
Each item has earned this title in its own way – because of its revolutionary role in shipping, because it is a silent witness to a key moment in maritime history, or simply because of its high quality.
The museum wants to make the collection accessible to as many people as possible. For research, to gain new insights or simply to enjoy them. Making the collection available online is therefore an important task for us as a museum.
The library of the Maritime Museum has the oldest and most comprehensive maritime collection in the Netherlands. The library was established in 1857.
Google Arts & Culture
On the digital platform 'Google Arts & Culture' you can admire dozens of objects from our collection and digital exhibitions that were developed especially for this platform.
Exhibitions online