Netherlands

ROTTERDAM

Discover the captivating history of Rotterdam through the immersive museum model, offering a unique glimpse into the town's past.

Step back in time and experience the charm of Rotterdam's past through the meticulously crafted museum model, showcasing the town's stunning architecture and bustling streets.

Located about 30 km from the North Sea, Rotterdam is connected to it by a canal known as the New Waterway. The city spans both banks of the New Meuse River, a northern distributary of the Rhine River.


The name Rotterdam first appeared in 1283, referring to a small tract of reclaimed land created by draining the mouth of the Rotte River, another distributary in the Rhine River delta. Initially developed as a fishing village, Rotterdam was chartered in 1328. By 1340, the town was granted permission to dig a canal to the Schie, another tributary of the New Meuse River, establishing it as the major port of the province. In the 17th century, the discovery of the sea route to the Indies significantly boosted Dutch commerce and shipping, leading to the expansion of Rotterdam's harbors and accommodations along the Meuse. By the end of the century, Rotterdam had become the second-largest merchant city in the country, after Amsterdam.
After the French occupation disrupted trade from 1795 until Napoleon's fall in 1815, Rotterdam adapted to these new circumstances. Transit trade became increasingly significant, and between 1866 and 1872, the city excavated the New Waterway from Rotterdam to the North Sea, facilitating the passage of larger oceangoing steamships. In 1877, Rotterdam was connected to the southern Netherlands via a railway that crossed the Meuse River. Simultaneously, the construction of a traffic bridge over the Meuse opened up the river's southern bank, leading to the development of extensive harbor facilities that expanded westward between 1892 and 1898. From 1906 to 1930, Rotterdam's Waal Harbour was constructed, eventually becoming the largest dredged harbor in the world.

Museum Rotterdam provided information about their ten scale models. 

Their models shows the city of Rotterdam in a scale from 17th century to nowadays, showing the city as a prosperous merchant town. Another model is presenting Rotterdam when it was blitzed and an all-consuming fire destroyed the city (the city was rebuilt in a completely different way) and so on. Models are presented in all of buildings that are owned by Museum Rotterdam. With their models they are aiming to tell the complete story of Rotterdam development to visitors of their exhibitions. These models are appreciated by many of museum visitors and are tend to be used as a conversation piece.This is due to the radical changes in the city's history and the many plans made for additions to the historical town area. 

Additional information

Wikipedia

Rotterdam - Tourist information

Technical information

Creator: Not specified, comissioned by Bouwcentrum
Year of manufacture: 1952-1954
Material: Not specified
Dimensions: 1:1000

SOURCES:

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Rotterdam". Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 Feb. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/place/Rotterdam-Netherlands. Accessed 22 March 2023.

Tomáš Linhart's request to Mayke Groffen (m.groffen@museumrotterdam.nl), Museum Rotterdam, Rotterdam, 01.07.2022

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