52 THE XPAT JOURNAL

LEISURE BY CONNIE MOSER

Louwman Museuma Prestigious Collection of Vehicles and AutomobiliaFor anyone who is car crazy and interested in the history of automobiles from the first horseless

carriages through subsequent models of motorized, steam and electric vehicles, the Netherlands’

new national automobile museum is the place to be. On July 2, 2010, Her Majesty, Queen

Beatrix opened the Louwman Museum in The Hague, which houses what is reputed to be the

world’s most prestigious collection of vintage vehicles. Some 230 in total, as well as distinctive

automobilia, accumulated by two generations of the Louwman family.

other museums is the attention that is given to the social

significance of the car.

The MuseumThe museum’s Managing Director, Ronald Kooyman, is rightly

proud of the new museum, and enthusiastically explained

how it came to be. “The decision to build the Louwman

Museum on this site was made over eight-and-a-half years

ago. The plant nursery that used to occupy this site was in

a state of neglect, but was surrounded by the exceptionally

valuable environment of the Marlot/Reigersbergen rural estate

zone. We asked the American architect Michael Graves to

come and see the collection for which the museum would be

designed. Although he was 73 at the time, he was so excited

about designing the museum that he took on the challenge,

along with his associate Gary Lapera.” The first pile was sunk

on December 11, 2007, by former mayor Wim Deetman. The

long preparatory period provided the opportunity to reflect at

length on the best way to present the collection to the public.

The result is awe-inspiring to say the least. The striking

museum building has three floors and over 10,000 m2 of exhi-

bition space. The building design is in a U-form, with steep,

peaked roofs that are typical of Dutch architecture, while the

exterior of the museum is reminiscent of a coach house, a

tribute to early transportation. Entering the museum through

TThe aim of the Louwman Museum is to give visitors the most

fascinating and complete illustration possible of the achieve-

ments of the automotive industry over the past 125 years. It

is the only motoring museum that selects automobiles on the

basis of criteria such as eras, car body shapes, technology

and origin, as opposed to other collections that only focus on

a particular brand. The automobiles must also be authentic,

unusual or unique. Another difference compared to many

Duesenberg SJ Lagrande

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the Great Hall, with its huge, arched timber roof, and radiant

natural light, one could almost envision it as a ‘cathedral for

cars’. The Dutch do refer to their cars as a heilige koe (a holy

cow; immune from criticism by its high status, revered) and,

even by those not inclined to worship automobiles, one could

be forgiven a reverent demeanor when viewing this magnifi-

cent collection. In essence, it comprises fascinating displays

of rare and unique vehicles, many of which you’ve likely never

seen before.

In addition to the lofty exhibition rooms there are smaller, pub-

lic rooms by the main entrance, such as the museum shop,

and there is a 340-seat theater. “The museum has conference

facilities and can be rented for business events,” Kooyman

commented. “In one space we’ve reconstructed an authentic

public square complete with shops and antiquities. Many

residents of The Hague will recognize The House of Lords

Hotel, which was torn down to make room for the Tweede

Kamer (Parliament) and stored until we had the opportunity

to reconstruct a portion of it in the museum. Here visitors can

enjoy refreshments.”

Another unique aspect is the automobilia. “The museum

contains more than just cars. The extensive collection of auto-

motive art, which includes paintings, sculptures, and posters,

forms an additional and unique attraction. This collection

of automotive art, the largest in the world, has never before

been on public display and is being exhibited in a specially-

designed room.”

The CollectionThe collection originated in the former century in The Hague -

in Lekstraat, where Louwman & Parqui, a distributor of Dodge

automotives, was based. In 1934, Piet Louwman, the father of

the initiator of the collection, purchased a 1914 Dodge. Even

then, this was considered a classic car, and was intended to

draw the public to the showroom. Interesting cars that were

part-exchanged by customers were kept, and so the collec-

tion was born. This Dodge still has a place of pride in the

museum. Evert Louwman, Piet’s son, went on to purchase

the collection from the former Autotron museum in Rosmalen,

adding key pieces to the Louwman collection.

In 1968, the first museum opened in Leidschendam and

was known as the Nationaal Automobiel Museum (Dutch

National Motor Museum), but moved to Raamsdonksveer in

1981. The Hague was chosen as the site of the new museum

as the city constitutes a prestige location that befits this

unique and world-famous collection. In short, the collection

contains a broad spectrum of automobiles. Almost all of the

vehicles, many of which are rare editions, are in their original

Louwman Museum, rear side

Talbot-Lago T150C SS

54 THE XPAT JOURNAL

In designing the Louwman Museum, we drew much of our

inspiration from the historical and physical context and strove

to give the new museum an identity of its own within its sur-

roundings. The location, in a magnificent park adjacent to

the Royal Palace, a residential district, and an historic indoor

tennis court, is enclosed by a canal and carefully thought-out

landscape architecture, screening it from the surrounding

buildings.”

Landscape architect Lodewijk Baljon, who has won many

international accolades, designed the park that surrounds

the new Louwman Museum, which has the feeling of a grand

estate. One of their architects, Robert van der Horst, pro-

duced a contemporary design for the park. A key task was

to restore some of the missing section of the Hague forest

between Marlot and the royal residence Huis ten Bosch,

thereby improving the ecological connection zone. As part

of this task, over a hundred mature trees have been planted.

After seeing the collection, one can’t help but reflect that

they certainly don’t make automobiles like they used to.

Whether you are making a trip down memory lane, or are there

out of curiosity or appreciation, you cannot help but conclude

that the styling, designs and workmanship are vastly impres-

sive. As Kooyman pointed out; “They used to truly build cars,

nowadays they just manufacture them.”

Louwman Museum, Leidsestraatweg 57, 2594BB The HagueOpen Tuesday thru Sunday 10 A.M. - 5 P.M.Admission: € 13.50 p.p., groups (min. 20 persons) € 11 p.p.children 6 to 12 years € 7.50 p.p., children under 6 free.Parking € 5Tel.: 070 - 304 73 73 - Internet: www.louwmanmuseum.nl

Thewebsite will soon be available in English. On how to get there by car, see the route on the website. Bus 90, 91 stops at Waalsdorperweg

and often un-restored state. A prime example is the second-

oldest automobile in the world - a De Dion Bouton & Trépar-

doux from 1887 - complete with original signs of wear and

tear. The contrasts between the magnificent luxury cars of the

1920s and ‘30s and some of the first attempts at affordable

family cars are also stark, as are the differences between the

American, Japanese and national European cultures and the

cars to which they gave rise.

The collection also contains a broad spectrum of other

vehicles, including bubble cars, steam cars, electric cars and

historic racing cars driven by such legends as Tazio Nuvolari.

Other noteworthy vehicles include the eccentric Swan Car

from 1910, a hybrid Woods from 1917, the Jaguar D-type

1957 Le Mans winner and James Bond’s original Aston Martin

DB5. Moreover, there is one of Elvis Presley’s grand Cadillacs,

and a distinguished car owned by Sir Winston Churchill.

The Dutch motoring heritage is, of course, exceptionally

well-represented. The Louwman Museum boasts the world’s

largest collection of Spykers, as well as the last surviving

Eysink from Amersfoort, and a DAF 600 prototype from 1957.

The collection includes other automobiles with a Dutch back-

ground story, such as the Ferrari that belonged to HRM Prince

Bernhard and the orange racing Porsche owned by Esquire

Carel Godin de Beaufort.

The LocationKooyman revealed that over 40,000 people have visited the

museum in the four months since it was opened, and proudly

noted, “We are a unique museum with a formidable collection

in a very special location; and we are neighbors to the Queen.”

As architect Graves stated: “I am both proud and grateful. For

an architect, designing a museum is one of the most reward-

ing assignments, because museums contribute to our cultural

history and help shape the collective perception of the public.

Mercedes-Benz SSK