Amsterdam Museum displays Golden Carriage in open air despite lockdown

Today, King Willem-Alexander announced that the Golden Coach will not be used for the time being. However, the restored Golden Coach, which will remain in a glass enclosure in the courtyard of the Amsterdam Museum until 28 February after more than five years of restoration, will be on display again. This is because the Amsterdam Museum will open the gates to its courtyards so that visitors can view the carriage in the outdoor area, free of charge and in safety. Security will supervise so that it does not get too crowded and sufficient distance is kept. Visitors can virtually walk through the surrounding multi-part exhibition halls at www.goudenkoets.nl.

Today, King Willem-Alexander announced in a video message that the Golden Coach will not be used for the time being. Since the opening of the exhibition in June 2021, the Amsterdam Museum has been researching opinions and feelings in society about the Golden Coach for the duration of the exhibition, both at the museum and across the country. With the aim of facilitating the conversation and connecting people through dialogue. Initial findings show that opinions vary widely and visitors who have seen the exhibition have nuanced thoughts on the history and significance of the carriage. The full survey results will be presented by the museum later this year.

''We understand the king's decision. As a museum, we think - precisely because we have experienced this in our own exhibition and museum - that an object like the Golden Coach is best shown to its best advantage in a museum context because there is room for depth and stratification and a conversation is initiated,'' said Amsterdam Museum artistic director Margriet Schavemaker. ''Incidentally, as a museum, we do think that the Netherlands is structurally changing in its handling of the colonial past and with it the way of thinking about a controversial piece of heritage like the Golden Coach.''

On the free opening of the museum's courtyard, Schavemaker said the following: ''Of course, after being closed for weeks again, we hope that we will be allowed to reopen completely. But if that is not the case, we still want to give people the chance to come and see the Golden Coach." After a five-year restoration, the special loan stands in the courtyard of the Amsterdam Museum since 18 June 2021. In six museum rooms surrounding the courtyard, which visitors can also view online at www.goudenkoets.nl, hundreds of cultural-historical objects provide a multifaceted picture of the history and use of the Golden Coach and past and present discussions about this iconic vehicle. Schavemaker: "On 28 February, the exhibition will close and the carriage will return to the Royal Stables in The Hague. That's just six weeks from now! We want to give as many people as possible, despite the lockdown, the opportunity to still come and see the carriage. This can be done safely outdoors. From Saturday 15 January, we will open the gates to our courtyards every day between 10am and 4pm. So feel free to drop by.''