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WARNING: Photos featured in this post depict sex,sexual content and nudity. Photos are censored, however, if easily offended, please tune in later for other posts.
There are those who don’t like to talk about sex.
And, there are those who do.
And those who like to see it.
Amsterdam, a very liberal place, is one of extreme freedom. Marijuana is legal as well as prostitution. Sex shows can be found in the red light district in addition to a few museums, depicting the sex trade and erotica.
One museum, the Sexmuseum Venustempel, located on busy Damrak Street, has been around since 1985, welcoming curious visitors by the thousands. With its convenient location near Amsterdam’s Central Station and many of the city’s hotels, plus its relatively cheap admission, it has evolved into one of the most visited museums in the Netherlands, with 675,000 visitors in 2015 alone.
Having visited the museum about twenty years ago, when I was younger, I knew that I probably remembered it in a different way. Aware of what it offered, I was curious to see what changes, if any, had take place after all these years.
The museum’s full name is Sexmuseum-Temple of Venus and the first thing you encounter is a full sized figure of Venus at the entry.
After issuing a greeting to Venus, I paid my admission and made my way inside looking for a familiar display…and there he was!
The flasher.
“Pssst!” He whispers from a dark nook. A motorized figure moves forward, whipping his coat open. Well, you can figure out the rest!
Moving on, life-sized wax figures of Mata Hari and her male partners stand proudly to the right side of the room. In the rear, a long line waits for entry into the fetish room, offering hundreds of pictures of different types of fetishes including domination, exhibitionism, nudism, bondage and larger partners.
Guiding yourself through the rooms, each offers a view into different types of sex or cultural views of sex. Downstairs you’ll detour through the dimly lit prostitution room, depicting the sex act as it may have been a couple of hundred years ago, as well as a displays on erotic pastries and African erotic art and fertility gods.
As you make your way up the stairs, plastic body parts line the stairwell and each floor offers encounters with various exhibits including Asian Art, Sex Through the Ages, Sex and Artists (with a depiction of Rembrandt painting a nude subject, Demons and Sex and numerous phallic representations, displayed singularly and in groupings. In the architecturally compelling atrium, which houses the Venus Gallery, make sure to look up at the window where a leather clad sex worker perches asymmetrically atop a stool.
Finally, I encountered something else that I remembered from all those years ago…Marilyn Monroe.
Yes, Marilyn, the sex symbol from the 1950s. Her life-sized wax figure reproduces the iconic scene from her movie The Seven Year Itch in which she fights the upward breeze from the subway grate blowing her white dress.
The rich and interesting collection offers hundreds of pieces of art, unique objects, rare old photographs brought together in an interesting way.
Though not for those easily offended, the museum is both amusing at times and quite compelling. Judging from people’s reactions when I mentioned that I visited, it is also probably not what most people imagine it to be. You’ll definitely get your five euros worth (and maybe more!).
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Sexmuseum Amsterdam
- http://www.sexmuseumamsterdam.nl/
- Address: Damrak 18, 1012 LH Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Hours: Daily, 0930-2330
- Admission: €5.00. Minimum age, 16 years
- Getting There: Walk from the Central Station direction Dam (2 minutes) or from the Dam square direction to the station (5 minutes).
Though the bridge, which has accommodated only pedestrians and cyclists since 2003, is high enough for the many low-profiled sightseeing boats to pass without opening, the bridge is opened throughout the day for other river traffic. In 1994, the bridge’s opening was automated, however, prior to that time, a bridge keeper was responsible for opening the bridge several times a day by hand.
During the era of Amsterdamse School, architects in the Netherlands were experimenting with new forms and developing remarkable designs, which included red brick motifs and elegant, curved facades. These architects were often involved with municipal projects, many commissioned by Amsterdam’s local government, producing avant-garde residential and public buildings. Aside from the well known, Het Schip and the Olympic Stadium, the architects worked on civic and utilitarian amenities including bridges, postboxes and yes, public toilets.
Though a small example of the Amsterdamse School’s ideals, the City Hall Urinal captures its essence with its curved western wall and modern statue, fist raised in the air, created by Hildo Krop, one of Amsterdam’s most prominent sculptors. Definitely a must see for architecture aficionados!
Setting out on my bike and riding along the canals, I passed throngs of tourists out enjoying a sunny break in the otherwise rainy afternoon. Searching for the Biblical Museum, I eyed each of the canal houses until finally finding the correct one and parked my bike. Trying the door, I discovered it to be locked.
The Suasso collection is disbursed throughout the Cromhout Museum, mainly on the second level, and is interspersed with the family’s prized collections. The home itself is also worth inspection as it gives a glimpse into the way of life that the families of this time period were accustomed.
When visitors to the Cromhout family arrived, they were received in the Antechamber, where a cabinet of curiosities, its drawers and cabinets filled with extraordinary natural phenomena, exotic items and unique hand-made artifacts, was located. The guests were then allowed into the Grand Salon, where parties were held and guests were entertained. The family’s art collection, a symbol of their status, was highlighted during a stroll around the first floor.
Artist Jacob de Wit, then young and relatively unheard of, was commissioned to paint the ceiling of the Cromhouthuis in 1718, one of his first ceiling pieces. The grand work of art depicts twelve Olympic gods, surrounded by personifications of the seasons, the points of the compass and the zodiac.
Two kitchens are also located in the home, one small and one large. The large, used for cooking since construction, was located in the basement so that temperatures remained cool and food stayed fresher for longer periods of time. The small kitchen, older than the rest of the home, was incorporated into the construction from a smaller house on the property. The red and green tiles were sourced from the Swedish island of Öland in the Baltic Sea.
In the rear of the property, the Cromhouthuis garden, is worth stepping out for a look, especially during a nice Dutch day. Although once longer than it is today, the design is one of order and symmetry and quite beautiful during the spring.
Since the Biblical Museum is also located on the premises, many biblical references were added to the garden’s design by landscape architect Jan Van Der Horst who incorporated an 18th century geometric pattern into the design and decorated the garden with plants and trees featured in the bible. The pools with stepping stones are a reference to the crossing of the Red Sea and the sculpture by Martie Van Der Loo represents the Apocalypse.
Since 1975, the upper floors of the Comhouthuis have housed the Biblical Museum. Having expected to find rows upon rows of dusty books, I instead found a light airy space consisting of biblical models, antiquities, archaeological finds and first edition bibles.
Adjacent rooms exhibit models of temples including a famous model of the Tabernacle, commissioned by the founder of the museum, Rev Leendert Schouten. This 19th century reconstruction uses materials mentioned in the Bible, including goat’s wool imported from Syria for the awning and sand from the Sinai desert.
Egyptian antiquities are also displayed including artifacts collected by Schouten in the 19th century. Inscribed stone slabs, funerary figurines, canopic jars (for mummified remains), scarabs, statues of the gods and a sarcophagus were intended to be laid out around the Tabernacle to give visitors an impression of the religious life of the ancient Egyptians. The most impressive item is a complete mummy of a young woman. Other unique items include oil lamps, clay tablets, earthenware, shards of pottery and coins.
Be sure to climb up to the loft area to observe varying photographic presentations.
Though my intentions were to only visit the Biblical Museum, I must admit that visiting the Cromhouthuis and its exhibition on the Soussa collection were the highlight of the my outing. Though probably not a museum that I would have picked out of a guidebook, it was a wonderful way to spend a drizzly afternoon and learn about the illustrious history of the Netherlands and their .
Opened in 1952, the park is named for George Maduro, a Jewish law student from Curaçao. After fighting the Nazi occupations forces as a member of the Dutch resistance, he died at Dachau concentration camp and was the only person of Antillean descent to be awarded the Knight 4th-class of the Military Order of William. After World War II, his parents donated the necessary capital to build the park in honor of their only son and a replica of his birthplace in Curaçao was added to the park in his honor.
Having traveled throughout the Netherlands, I have seen much of its beauty and many of its municipalities. As I moved to the rear of the property with reproductions of many of the Netherlands’ cities, I developed a game to check out each city exhibit before reading the accompanying signs and identify it by its buildings and landmarks. As an avid photographer, I especially enjoyed positioning my camera to get the best shots of these tiny cities…with the results, in some cases, you have no idea that you are looking at a photo of a model, so detailed are the displays.
Another attraction, explains the beginning of the Netherlands in 1572. Hof van Nederland (Dutch Court) is located at the rear of the property and unlike the small-scale displays, is life sized. The best part of the entire park, however, is that the entirety of the net proceeds from the park go towards various charities in the Netherlands!
Originally a Catholic cathedral consecrated in 1559, St-Bavokerk was converted to Protestantism in 1958. Walking through the interior of the church, it is hard to fathom that this expansive church was once a Catholic cathedral. Lacking the embellished ornamentation that you usually find in most cathedrals, the only commonality would be the stained glass windows, however, the lack thereof is a source of interest. Haarlem was once an important center for stained glass in the 16th century, however, many of the original windows, have been lost to neglect. Today, the lack of historic, colorful windows has been remedied by installing windows from other, demolished or defunct churches. In addition, modern artists have created new pieces…a beautiful, large blue window hangs on the northern side and can be seen when entering the double doors on the Groenmarkt and was created by local glass artist Michel van Overbeeke.
Throughout the church’s floor, a large number of carvings can be seen marking the graves of many illustrious Haarlemers. Until 1831, graves were allowed within the church and many plaques hanging on the walls represent the shields of illustrious families and mark the family’s graves below them. Many famous people are buried in individual graves within the church such as Pieter Teyler van der Hulst and Willen van Heythuisen. Other notorious burials include painters Frans Hals and Maarten van Heemskerck and two circus curiosities, the giant Danial Cajanus and his midget friend Jan Paap.
During World War II, many Jews knew of a hiding place in Haarlem…19 Barteljorisstraat, the site of the Ten Boom family’s watchmaking business. With the comings and goings of the business’ many customers, it was the perfect hiding place since it did not arouse suspicion.
Setting up a rehabilitation center in Bloemendaal for concentration camp survivors and the jobless Dutch who had previously collaborated with the Germans, she continued to assist those in need. Returning to Germany in 1946, she then traveled the world as a public speaker, appearing in more than 60 countries, wrote many books and finally emigrated to Placentia, California before her death at 91 years of age.
One of the most notable items in the church is the memorial shield on the left nave wall, which is a symbolic mark of the grave of the famous Dutch painter, Rembrandt. Living nearby at Rozengracht 184 in extreme poverty, he was buried in an unmarked church grave with several other people in the church. The exact location of his grave remains unknown.
Other things that you can check out in the immediate area are the Anne Frank statue located on the Westermarkt and the entrance to the Prinsenhuis, which once served as the entrance to the Westerkerk. The Lord Mayor’s gate is still visible on the Westermarkt side of the church and was once used as a shortcut for the mayors of the city to reach their private stall inside the church (directly opposite the pulpit). The Homomonument is also a popular tourist attraction, commemorating all gay men and lesbians who have been subjected to persecution because of their homosexuality and is located behind the church, at the corner of the Westermarkt and Keizergracht.
