Pleasance

The Dutch name for a pleasance, 'overtuin' (literally: 'the garden over/across'), was derived from the fact that this type of garden would have been situated 'on the other side of the ditch'. The laundry would have been laid out to dry on the bleaching field next to the house but, on the other side of the ditch, there would have been space to lay out a pleasance - the ornamental and kitchen garden.                                                                        

First and foremost, the pleasance would have had a decorative function. This is reflected in the central bed of small, geometrically planted, clipped shrubs (called an 'embroidery bed' in Dutch), niches for garden statues or vases, and an arbour. The large gate was a symbol of wealth. The pleasance was created after a fire in the Zaan area of the museum in 1970.