The Zuiderzee Museum in Enkhuizen revives the stories of people who once lived on the shores of the Zuiderzee. See, hear, taste and smell everyday life around the Zuiderzee as it was before the Afsluitdijk (IJsselmeer Barrier Dam) changed the sea into the IJsselmeer in 1932. The Zuiderzee Museum is oriented towards the history, the current situation and the future of this area. It focuses upon the themes of water, crafts and communities. This storey is visualised in the Outdoor Museum with historical buildings, and in the Indoor Museum with thematic exhibitions.

Outdoor Museum

The Museum ferry carries you across the IJsselmeer to the Outdoor Museum where you can take a walk through history. The open-air section covers 15 acres and accommodates authentic buildings from the former Zuiderzee region, such as a church, a fish-curing shed, a mill, a cheese warehouse, shops and dwelling houses from the surrounding fishing villages. You can help craftspeople in the Marker harbour making nets, produce a rope at the rope-maker’s workplace, give the housemaid a hand, or enter into a conversation with the ‘inhabitants’ from the former island of Urk. A number of presentations offer a modern interpretation of traditional crafts, materials and themes.

Indoor Museum

The Indoor Museum is the treasure chamber of the Zuiderzee. Temporary exhibitions display the rich collection of the Museum. For example the exhibition Journey around the Zuiderzee presents highlights of the