About

18th-century city palace

The Princessehof owes its name to the matriarch of the Dutch royal family: Marie Louise of Hesse-Kassel, princess of Orange-Nassau. Marie Louise, from an important noble German family, married John William Friso of Nassau-Dietz, stadholder of Friesland and Groningen and prince of Orange, at the age of 21. Her eventful life is the subject of the permanent exhibition The Princessehof of Marie Louise.

Birthplace of M.C. Escher

In 1898, the world-famous graphic artist M.C. Escher was also born in the same building. Visitors can become acquainted with the young Maurits Escher in the modest exhibition At Home with M.C. Escher. Street artist Leon Keer also created a large anamorphic mural in the Princessehof’s vaulted cellar as an ode to this world-famous artist.

In 1917, collector Nanne Ottema was given access to the city palace where he founded the Princessehof National Museum of Ceramics. The museum is housed in a series of conjoined national monuments and includes the 18th-century palace of Marie Louise of Hesse-Kassel. The museum building also consists of a 16th-century stins, a 19th-century wine warehouse, the 17th-century Stadholder Riding School and the building at 9 Grote Kerkstraat. The Princessehof is a veritable maze of halls, rooms, staircases and attics, each with its own dating, style and function.

Collection and exhibitions

Today, the museum manages an extensive collection of about 35,000 objects, with an emphasis on Asian, European and modern ceramics. It owns the largest and most varied collection of Chinese porcelain in the Netherlands and presents an abundant and multifaceted overview of Dutch Art Nouveau and Art Deco ceramics from the period 1880-1930. The collection has some unparalleled highlights such as imperial porcelain from China and a sculpture by Karel Appel.

In East and West, the permanent exhibition on the first floor, ceramics take you on a journey around the world and through time. Each place and time has its own ceramics, reflecting political, economic and cultural conditions. Knowledge and taste also travel from east to west and vice versa. Along the way, you will discover overlaps in styles, forms and techniques, spanning the entire world from China, the cradle of ceramics, to Friesland and its clay. The ground floor of the museum features a dynamic array of exhibitions on appealing topics. With a series of presentations on the second floor, we cater to the growing interest in ceramics as an autonomous art form and as an interesting material for designers.

Unfortunately, we cannot display everything in the museum, so we lend as many objects as possible to other institutions in the Netherlands and abroad. We also work continuously on the digital visibility of the collection, with an online database, collection stories, photographs, videos, games and online exhibitions.

Cookbook

The Princessehof has published a cookbook with special recipes that nationally and internationally renowned chefs, culinary writers, bakers and other enthusiastic foodies specially created to accompany ceramics in the museum’s collection. Uniquely, all the food is presented on and in the precious, often centuries-old plates, dishes and bowls. In the more than 400-page book Art and Cooking. Cookbook Princessehof National Museum Of Ceramics, ceramic and culinary art are literally combined for the first time. Available at the museum shop and the webshop.

Inclusive and accessible

Everyone is welcome at the Princessehof. Whether you are an experienced ceramics enthusiast or have never been to a museum before: our mission is to make all our visitors feel at home. And that starts with the basics. The Princessehof collection is culturally diverse, and includes masterpieces from all over the world. Our acquisition policy prioritises this.

The museum is fully committed to the Diversity & Inclusion Code, to being open to diversity as a museum, and to operating more inclusively in all areas. Thus, we regularly create multi-layered topical exhibitions about intercultural issues with plenty of room for personal stories. The museum is freely accessible to children and young people under the age of 18, and with our tailor-made educational programmes, we know exactly how to strike the right chord. We continuously lower the threshold to the museum for different groups of people with our special programmes and collaborations, and offer knowledge and content to culture lovers with our in-depth activities. Free activities also make the museum accessible to people with a tight budget, and we reach new Frisians through our collaboration with the Dutch Refugee Council. Our special tours ensure that people with a visual or hearing impairment or dementia can also enjoy the museum. There are special programmes around (contemporary) ceramics for makers, and we develop online products for people who cannot visit the museum. Economically, we contribute through our tourist appeal: visitors travel to Leeuwarden especially for major exhibitions and often stay overnight or have a bite to eat. Around 40,000 people visit the Princessehof each year.

Green and sustainable

The Princessehof National Museum of Ceramics and the Fries Museum strive continuously to ensure that we reduce our carbon footprint. The museums want to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals and to broad prosperity for the region. To make sustainability a serious spearhead, a sustainability project leader has been appointed within the museum to research the various options and draft a sustainable action plan. Moreover, there is an internal Green Team that continuously suggests circular and environmentally friendly initiatives and alternatives. There is great enthusiasm and willingness among our employees to do more about sustainability and together they ensure that the museums make sustainable choices wherever possible. This applies to several aspects, from the purchase of all materials and services to recycling in exhibition construction.

Joint organisation

The Princessehof National Museum of Ceramics and the Fries Museum form an organisation of two independent and contemporary museums where quality and the public are paramount. The Fries Museum tells the Ferhaal fan Fryslân through the largest provincial collection in the Netherlands. Read more about the organisation here.