Cross Verwerstraat, then turn left and stop at the entrance of the Noordbrabants museum.

The museum is part of the museum quarter, because behind the museum garden you can also visit the Design museum. All in all, it has an area of ​​over 5,000 square meters and is therefore one of the largest museums in the Netherlands.

The building you have a view of was originally a Jesuit monastery and dates back to 1615. It was then renovated and used as the government building. The renovation that was carried out for this was completed in 1769 and it thus became the official residence of the military governor. It was not until 1984 that the palace was converted into a museum and expanded with two new wings. In 2011 the connection with the Design museum was established.

The Noordbrabants museum gained enormous recognition in 2016, the so-called Jeroen Bosch year; it received more than 420,000 visitors in just 3 months for an exhibition about Jheronimus Bosch with the theme “visions of a genius”. Almost all of the original paintings were on display and the museum was even forced to extend the closing time to one o’clock in the morning due to all the interest.

The museum itself has its origins in 1836 when it was founded as the Society of Arts and Sciences in North Brabant. In 1860 the municipality allowed it to use the top floor of the butter hall on the Pensmarkt, the building you heard about before and which was located opposite the town hall.

In 1925 the Society moved to the renovated Sint-Jacobs church. From 1975, the office areas and the print room were moved to a different location. A foundation was established in 1981 and in the years between 1983 and 1987 the entire collection moved to this beautiful building here in the Verwerstraat.

The main attractions include a permanent exhibition about Vincent van Gogh, who was born in Brabant. He is considered one of the greatest painters of the 19th century. Unfortunately, he only achieved this fame after his death. Perhaps partly because of all the attention he is getting now. The Statenzaal, which served as the meeting room of the Provincial Council for more than two centuries, is also very impressive. Beautiful high stained glass windows and large chandeliers. Impressive decorative wood on the side walls with golden statues in small niches everywhere. Together with the wooden ceiling, they create a breathtaking atmosphere. The museum also collects objects that have to do with the art, history and culture of North Brabant and the Southern Netherlands. The entire collection comprises more than 30,000 items, of which you will only see about 15% in the permanent presentations. The rest reside in depots and are used for alternating exhibitions.

If you plan on visiting the museum now, you can close off the tour by tapping the End Tour button in the top right corner. When you’re done come back to this spot and start the tour again by choosing Resume.

Otherwise if you prefer to keep moving now, with the museum entrance on your right, continue walking along Verwerstraat.