National History Museum: Building, Reenactment or Website?
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The recent discussion whether the new Dutch National History Museum should be built in Amsterdam or The Hague, has been hijacked by cities that say history did not take place in one city, according to Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad.
Instead of one central museum, a network of buildings and sites should show and reenact history. An augmented experience of history is their goal, either by implementing new technology or by showing traditional historic practices. “History must be made perceptible”, says Kees van Twist of the Groninger Museum. And this should be done in a decentralized cluster across the country, according to people like Charles Jeurgens, head of the Dordrecht city archives, since “it is a characteristic of the Netherlands that the birth of the state, nation and religion took place in various places.”
Other countries who face the same problems, should follow this unfolding discussion in the Netherlands. Not only is it good at winning land from water, but with the highest number of museums per capita in the world, it is also an expert at making heritage from history.
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