Around 6,000 monuments across the Netherlands are opening to the public free of charge this Saturday and Sunday for Open Monuments Day.
The annual event takes place on the second weekend in September as part of the wider European Heritage Days, marking its 40th edition since launching in 1987.
Minister Rianne Letschert of Education, Culture, and Science will open the weekend on Friday evening at the Museum Batavialand shipyard in Lelystad.
Locations and activities across the country
Participating sites this year range from farmhouses, forts, and factories to pumping stations, residential buildings, castles, and churches.
A Cold War bunker inside the Haringvliet Sluices at Stellendam will offer two-hour tours through machinery rooms and seaward-facing engine spaces.
Other open sites include a marl quarry on Sint-Pietersberg Hill in Maastricht and the Vondelkerk in Amsterdam, where visitors can see restoration work following a New Year’s Eve fire.
In Utrecht, local school pupils will lead tours around Domplein, while Breda Castle, which houses the Royal Military Academy, will open for guided visits.
