Historisch Centrum

Leeuwarden


Read up on the town's history at the city archives, home to a permanent exhibition on the history of Leeuwarden. It also organises guided tours led by local Liwwadders, and sells an excellent DIY city-walk book (€7.50) detailing all the main sights.

Key exhibits from some of the many temporary exhibitions held around the city to celebrate its status as European Capital of Culture in 2018 are expected to find a permanent home in the Historisch Centrum from 2019 onwards.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Leeuwarden attractions

1. Keramiek Museum Princessehof

0.04 MILES

Pottery lovers will adore the Netherlands ceramics museum. Here you'll find the largest collection of tiles on the planet, an unparalleled selection of…

2. Obe Paviljoen

0.05 MILES

Named after the local Frisian poet Obe Postma (1868–1963), this contemporary wood-and-glass pavilion is razor-sharp in both architectural design and the…

3. Oldehove

0.1 MILES

At the northwest corner of the historic core stands the notoriously off-kilter Oldehove – Friesland's rival to the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Things went…

4. Natuurmuseum Fryslân

0.17 MILES

Let your angels run rampant in this natural history museum, covering Friesland's flora and fauna. Highlights include a virtual bird-flight simulation …

5. De Waag

0.24 MILES

The petite weighing house dominates Waagplein; butter and other goods were weighed here from 1598 to 1884.

6. Fries Museum

0.29 MILES

The provincial museum occupies an imposing glass-fronted building sporting a striking wood-and-steel roof that projects out over Wilhelminaplein. The…

7. Blokhuispoort

0.42 MILES

No single sight evokes the undercurrent of explosive creativity pulsating through the Frisian capital quite like this 19th-century prison-turned-cultural…

8. Eise Eisinga Planetarium

10.38 MILES

The Eise Eisinga Planetarium is named after its builder, an 18th-century wool comber with a serious sideline in cosmic mathematics and astrology. Between…