Europe’s largest Apple museum to open in Utrecht

At the beginning of next year, Europe’s largest Apple museum will open in The Wall shopping center in Utrecht. The 1,600 square meter museum is an initiative by Ed Bindels, the founder and owner of the Apple reseller Amac.

The museum will feature more than five thousand Apple products, dating all the way back to 1977, including several items that were only sold in the United States.

“My urge to collect started early”, Bindels said in a press release. “Before I founded Amac in 2005, I already had a Macintosh portable in the attic. ‘Portable’ is relative given the heavy lead battery. It’s great to compare next to current MacBooks.”

Bindels concentrated on expanding his collection during the pandemic. “During the coronavirus crisis, when our 50 stores were temporarily closed, I started to focus on adding to the collection.”

A separate Apple Museum was previously located in Drenthe but had to close last year due to the high rent. “It is sad that the museum had to disappear from Drenthe”, chairman of the new Apple museum, Izaak Buwalda said. “As a foundation, we had one goal: keep the collection together.” Their collection will also be displayed at the new museum in Utrecht. Prior to 2020, the museum attracted between three to five thousand visitors per year.

The collection was created in 2012 when the previous owners were no longer able to house it. Over the years, the collection grew thanks to donations. It now includes a complete library of manuals, rare posters and virtually every software Apple has ever released.

There are a few gems missing from the collection such as the original Apple I, a PC developed by Apple co-founder Stephen Wozniak in 1976, as well as the original Apple Lisa 1, the NeXT Cube and a Macintosh TV.