Edams Museum

Journey through the Coopmanshuys Museum in Edam

 I'm starting this blog with a feeling of shame. Shame, because I live less than a kilometer away from this museum and had never been there. In fact, I only found out about the museum during my monthly visit to the VVV in Edam. The town hall where the VVV of Edam is located is apparently a dependance of the museum that is located in the Coopmanshuys. Do you get it? My eyebrows certainly went up. There are two separate spaces/buildings that together form the museum of Edam. As they say in English, "mindblowing", in other words, a whole new world opened up for me. Well, time for a visit to the museum in the Coopmanshuys.

 A piece of history in the heart of the city

When you stand in front of the museum, you immediately see that this building has been there for quite some time. To be precise, since 1540. The building is located on the Damplein in the heart of the city. When you step inside, you immediately feel like you've traveled back to the Golden Age. The Coopmanshuys has been preserved almost in its original state and is therefore worth a visit for its interior alone.

The floating cellar

The most striking and enjoyable phenomenon in this museum for me is the 'floating cellar'. When you walk in, you don't notice much at first, but as you walk on the floor, you feel it moving up and down. The cellar consists of a waterproof masonry box that can float on the groundwater. According to the legend, this cellar was built by a sea captain who wanted to feel like he was back at sea. In reality, the floating cellar is a structural element, but the legend is of course much more fun to tell, especially for the children.

Interior of the Coopmanshuys

During my visit to the museum, I had the privilege of being in the presence of a gentleman who knows the museum inside out. He told me that the front room of the house originally was a shop. This room is still decorated as a woolen fabric shop from the 16th century. In the room, there is a steep staircase leading to the 'comptoirke' located in an upstairs room. If you visit the museum, you can still buy beautiful fabric here that can be used to make a quilt. At the back, there is the back room, also called the luxury room. This is where the kitchen and sleeping quarters used to be. Here, I discovered that the bedsteads were too small to lie down in. The residents slept half-sitting. It doesn't seem very comfortable to me, but apparently that's how it was done in those days. I once heard in a history lesson that this was done because people believed they would suffocate if they slept flat on their backs or would die sooner. We will probably never fully understand the real reason for this peculiar way of sleeping, as unfortunately time travel is not yet possible. Today, this room is no longer at the back but in the middle of the house, as an extension was built with a chic back room. The upper floors used to be used as warehouse space. All the merchandise was stored here. The beautiful old wooden structures are still clearly visible. Of course, I can't help but run my hand along the wood. As I mentioned in one of my previous blogs, I find it very special to touch buildings that have existed for hundreds of years. You might think I'm crazy, but when I do this, I think of all the hands that have touched this same piece of wood over hundreds of years. Nowadays, the exhibition spaces are arranged on these floors. On the first floor, you will find the permanent maritime collection. Think of wooden model ships and everything related to life at sea. Take the time to look at everything in detail, otherwise, you'll quickly miss the beautiful little details.

 Exhibitions and collections

 The museum also houses three life-size paintings of well-known residents of Edam. You will surely discover the stories about these famous people in the museum. In addition, there is an impressive graphic collection consisting of maps, engravings, woodcuts, optical prints, design drawings, and sketches. This collection consists of 800 objects. The museum also has a photo and glass collection. This collection consists of 200 individual photos, eleven photo albums, and largely of commemorative glasses from Edam's colorful past. The collection that appealed to me the most was the ceramic collection of everyday ceramics from the Edam region. This includes, for example, the earthenware of Fris. The origin of the Fris earthenware is a special story that I have told you more about in one of my previous blogs. For now, I say, visit the Coopmanshuys museum if you are in the vicinity of Edam, so that you will know all the ins and outs of Edam afterwards.