No entry fee at over 5,500 Dutch monuments for this year's Open Monument Days

The annual Open Monument Days are happening in the Netherlands this weekend. Mayor Harald Bergmann of Schiedam will officially open the event at the Havenkerk this evening. Over 5,500 monuments throughout the Netherlands will open their doors to the public free of charge on Saturday and Sunday.

This is the 39th edition of the Open Monument Days, held every year on the second weekend of September. This year’s theme is “Heritage and Architecture.” In addition to free entry, many participating monuments also offer free activities for visitors, young and old. The event attracts around 2 million people to Dutch monuments every year.

Visit one of the Dutch castles this weekend. Kasteel Oost in Valkenburg, Buitenplaats Sparrendaal in Driebergen, Kasteel Biljoen near Velp, and Landgoed de Wiersse are among those participating. Landhuis De Hantert, which will also open its doors this weekend, is celebrating its 700th anniversary this year.

Many monumental windmills will also be free to explore, including Poldermolen De Eendracht from 1872 and Molen de Valk from 1860. As will several UNESCO World Heritage buildings, including the Rietveld Schröder House from 1924 and the Van Nelle Fabriek from 1930.

This year’s event also includes some new monuments from the post-1965 period. These buildings originate from a time when the Netherlands was “rapidly changing and new ideas about building and living emerged,” the organizers said. “Although these buildings are not very old, they clearly demonstrate how people lived and thought at the time.”

Younger monuments participating this year include the Eindhoven city hall, community center De Musketon in Utrecht, and Lelystad Station. Last week, the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Nehterlands (RCE) started the process of designating 15 buildings from this period as national monuments.

More information is available on the organizer’s website.