Werkspoormuseum: the history
The Werkspoormuseum situated in the former ropewalks of the Dutch East India company.
The Werkspoormuseum in Amsterdam, owned by Stork, is designed as an industrial museum, and has numerous links with the past. Since 1950 it has been located on the island of Oostenburg, in part of the former 'ropewalks' or ropeyards. These belonged to the Dutch East India Company and to the Dutch navy, or Admiralty, as it used to be called. The ropewalks stretched down to the River IJ and were approx. 500 metres long, the usual length for ship's ropes.
The building dates from 1660. On the ground floor of the museum there is an exhibition of paintings, furniture and other items connected with the period of the Dutch East India Company (1602-1795). On the first floor the emphasis is on Werkspoor's industrial past, a past which is just as much a part of our cultural heritage as music and art, and which in this museum receives equal attention.