Location, location, location. It is a mantra from the real estate business, but location is also very important for the museum world. In The Hague, you can safely call the Museum Quarter, around the Hofvijver and Lange Voorhout, the A-location, with big crowdpullers like the Mauritshuis and the Escherm Museum. And of course the Haags Historisch Museum (HHM), located right on the Hofvijver. The museum likes to draw inspiration from its surroundings, says director Tjeerd Vrij. Thus, the exhibition 'Macht - 800 jaar Binnenhof' ran until the end of September.

But the location may be beautiful and inspiring, but the current building (a national monument dating from 1636) is in need of a major refurbishment. In early June, the city council unanimously approved a proposal to renovate and expand the museum. "A great gift from the city council," Vrij believes. "The fact that the entire council is behind this plan shows the great support among the people of The Hague." The council has earmarked 17.7 million euros for the renovation.

However, this does not yet cover all costs, he explained. Once the construction work is completed, the new rooms will also have to be furnished. "With exhibitions for the old and new halls, but you are also talking about hall lighting, offices, the shop, the education room," lists the director. "That will cost another more than three million euros, about half of which we will pay from our own savings." For the remaining funds, the museum is still looking for sponsors.

Spiral staircase

Repair and renovation work started in November and is expected to take two and a half years. Two architectural interventions are of major importance, says Vrij. First, the museum's entrance will be moved from Korte Vijverberg to Tournooiveld, opposite Lange Voorhout. "Then you enter the covered courtyard, our new reception hall. At the end of that will be a spectacular spiral staircase that acts as a kind of pivot point from where you can find all the exhibitions."

The reception hall becomes more spacious and connects exhibitions.

In addition, the building will be completely sustainable: the museum will go off gas and there will be solar panels, a heat pump and better insulation. "We will have fully-fledged museum rooms and more square metres, so more space for exhibitions. And with the new central reception hall, we will have many more possibilities for programming, such as openings, debate evenings and even once a concert."

In short, the museum will get the high-quality décor and appearance it deserves, Vrij believes. "With our collection and stories, we are a city museum with national appeal. The Hague has a rich history that is important for the whole country. At the same time, it is perhaps a somewhat underrated city and Hagenaars are often a bit modest. We can use our plans to make Hagenaars and Hagenezen even more proud of their city."

Hagenaars as well as Hagenezen, the director explicitly stresses. "Traditionally, people who go to museums are on average slightly more educated. We try to break that, we want to be a museum for the whole city." For instance, with the recent exhibition on the famous cartoon character Hague Harry, or even earlier with an exhibition on Hague hair. "Then suddenly you see boys and girls with mats in the museum, incredibly cool," he says. An exhibition on The Hague as a city of sand and peat is currently in the works and should be ready at the reopening.

Connection

In 2023, the Haags Historisch Museum hosted the exhibition 'Colonial The Hague - an unfinished past'. For this, the museum worked closely with the Network Heritage Hague Migrants, Vrij explains. Hague residents with a migration background were invited to the museum with the request to bring an object and a story that told something about their own colonial past. Twenty-five of those stories were displayed in a separate room.

The entrance will be at Tournooiveld.

Free: "Because of our shared history, we wanted to shape this together with people with ties to former Dutch colonies. To create recognition and recognition for their and our shared history. Very nice and valuable, because that's how you involve city residents in your presentations. By doing so, you don't become a dead but a living museum."

That is your social mission as a museum, he believes. "Provide connection, between you as a museum and visitors, but also - especially for a city museum - between visitors themselves. That provides insight into and understanding of each other. I know, these are easy words to say, but I've really seen it happen."

Linking past and present in such ways produces wonderful exhibitions and personal connections, it can also counteract social polarisation, Vrij believes. "For people who want to help us financially to furnish the museum, that can be a good motivation. You invest in each other, in a beautiful society."

www.haagshistorischmuseum.nl