So...as promised, this blog entry will explore the lesser known and bizarre museums of Amsterdam. There are quite a few that I would like to share, so I'll keep the comments short. I will include all the websites, however, so you can learn more on your own if you are so inclined.
Hash Marihuana & Hemp Museum
Of course you would expect this one... The Hash Marihuana Hemp Museum offers visitors extensive documentation and historical facts about today's use of the cannabis plant. There are informative displays about hash’s medicinal, religious and cultural applications. Attention is also given to the importance of cannabis for the environment, agriculture and industry.
Museum of Bags and Purses
Just as it sounds, the Museum of Bags and Purses tells the history of the western handbag from the late Middle Ages right up to the present. The museum owns more than 4,000 bags, pouches, purses, suitcases and other accessories.
Electric Ladyland (Fluorescent Art Museum)
'Electric Ladyland - the First Museum of Fluorescent Art' houses a large room-sized fluorescent environment that the visitor enters, becomes a part of the piece of Art. The other section features a permanent exhibition of fluorescent minerals.
Sex Museum
This museum houses an extensive collection of erotic art throughout the centuries from the old masters to contemporary artists. This includes sculptures, pottery, paintings, drawings, photographs and other visual material. I would highly recommend doing a Google Image search on"Sex Museum Amsterdam" and see what you get!
Coffee and Tea Museum
The Coffee and Tea Museum hosts a small collection of old coffee trade artifacts like coffee grinders, tins, burners and traditional appliances. It's a small attraction above the Geels & Co shop, which sells freshly-roasted coffee and tea. The shop has been run for almost 150 years by Amsterdam’s Geels family.
Kattenkabinet (The Cat Cabinet)
The Cat Cabinet is housed in a 17th century canal house and is a museum dedicated entirely to the role of cats in art and culture throughout history. Paintings, sculptures, posters and other cat artefacts are on display...watched over by some feline friends. Even if you’re not cat crazy, I have read that a stroll through the impressive rooms of this canal house (also used in the film Ocean’s Twelve) is worth it.
Netherlands Funeral Museum
The Netherlands Funeral Museum focuses on funeral culture in the Netherlands over the centuries. The collection includes various funeral coaches, including a nineteenth century ceremonial carriage. Exhibits range from the hearse to the obituary, mourning attire and service to regulations concerning historical cemeteries, from royal processions to images of rural ceremonies which have remained unchanged for centuries.
Pipe Museum & Smokiana
The Pipe Museum displays center on the world wide culture of pipe smoking and the use of tobacco from the earliest times (500 B.C.) to present day. The museum has over 20,000 items in its collection.
Torture Museum
Just as it sounds, this museum has on display various torture instruments used in the European medieval times. Good times!!!
Vodka Museum
On a visit to this museum you will learn you everything about the long and interesting history of Vodka, the production process and the different types of Vodka. On the premises of the Vodka Museum you may also visit the Museum shop, which sells 112 kinds of vodka.
Houseboat Museum
This museum is right across the street (canal) from us. The Houseboat Museum (Woonbootmuseum) gives you the unique chance to personally experience what life is like on board a houseboat in an Amsterdam canal. You can see how this barge was converted to a comfortable houseboat, equipped with authentic skipper's quarters with a sleeping bunk, sizable living room, kitchen and bathroom.
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