Spaarstation Dingenliefde

During his life-time, bank manager Nico ter Wolbeek (†) collected more than 13,000 money boxes. His collection inspired the Netherlands Open Air Museum to develop the permanent 'Spaarstation Dingenliefde’ (Collector's paradise) display, which was opened to the public in October 2004. In this exhibition you will see not only how the present-day Netherlands collects, but also how aspects of the Netherlands of the past are being collected.  

In attics all over the Netherlands, old stamp albums are evidence of a hobby that someone has long since forgotten about. Sometimes, however, this enthusiasm for collecting does not fade and, instead, becomes a passion that drives the collector's ambition to own absolutely everything about a certain subject. The Spaarstation Dingenliefde exhibition puts nine of these enthusiasts under the spotlight. You can admire their amazing collections and discover what drives them to collect money boxes, tattoos, shopping lists, religious imagery, House of Orange royal memorabilia, pipes, fountain pens, Swarovski crystal and even airplane sick bags. 

Some people are real ‘hoarders’. They keep everything and throw away nothing. This is exactly what the parents and grandparents of Annegriet Wietsma were like too. From the middle of an enormous pile of ‘stuff’, she reveals in a video portrait how she and her brothers sorted through three generations of family history while clearing out their family home.

The Open Air Museum collects too: buildings and objects, but most of all stories. After admiring the quirky wall display showing the contents of the Wietsma family’s attic, you'll find yourself in a museum depot, surrounded by towering racks packed full of old objects. You will see how the museum uses these building blocks to bring to life lost aspects of our everyday lives. Items that show how people dealt with the cold in their homes and their work-roughened hands, that illustrate horse power, thrift and tough household chores, or bring back memories of pedlars at the door, the store cupboard and the compartmentalisation that divided and controlled society.