1. 52 THE XPAT JOURNAL
LEISURE BY CONNIE MOSER
Louwman Museum
a Prestigious Collection of
Vehicles and Automobilia
For anyone who is car crazy and interested in the history of automobiles from the first horseless
carriages through subsequent models of motorized, steam and electric vehicles, the Netherlands’
new national automobile museum is the place to be. On July 2, 2010, Her Majesty, Queen
Beatrix opened the Louwman Museum in The Hague, which houses what is reputed to be the
world’s most prestigious collection of vintage vehicles. Some 230 in total, as well as distinctive
automobilia, accumulated by two generations of the Louwman family.
other museums is the attention that is given to the social
significance of the car.
The Museum
The museum’s Managing Director, Ronald Kooyman, is rightly
proud of the new museum, and enthusiastically explained
how it came to be. “The decision to build the Louwman
Museum on this site was made over eight-and-a-half years
ago. The plant nursery that used to occupy this site was in
a state of neglect, but was surrounded by the exceptionally
valuable environment of the Marlot/Reigersbergen rural estate
zone. We asked the American architect Michael Graves to
come and see the collection for which the museum would be
designed. Although he was 73 at the time, he was so excited
about designing the museum that he took on the challenge,
along with his associate Gary Lapera.” The first pile was sunk
on December 11, 2007, by former mayor Wim Deetman. The
long preparatory period provided the opportunity to reflect at
length on the best way to present the collection to the public.
The result is awe-inspiring to say the least. The striking
museum building has three floors and over 10,000 m2
of exhi-
bition space. The building design is in a U-form, with steep,
peaked roofs that are typical of Dutch architecture, while the
exterior of the museum is reminiscent of a coach house, a
tribute to early transportation. Entering the museum through
T
The aim of the Louwman Museum is to give visitors the most
fascinating and complete illustration possible of the achieve-
ments of the automotive industry over the past 125 years. It
is the only motoring museum that selects automobiles on the
basis of criteria such as eras, car body shapes, technology
and origin, as opposed to other collections that only focus on
a particular brand. The automobiles must also be authentic,
unusual or unique. Another difference compared to many
Duesenberg SJ Lagrande

2. THE XPAT JOURNAL 53
the Great Hall, with its huge, arched timber roof, and radiant
natural light, one could almost envision it as a ‘cathedral for
cars’. The Dutch do refer to their cars as a heilige koe (a holy
cow; immune from criticism by its high status, revered) and,
even by those not inclined to worship automobiles, one could
be forgiven a reverent demeanor when viewing this magnifi-
cent collection. In essence, it comprises fascinating displays
of rare and unique vehicles, many of which you’ve likely never
seen before.
In addition to the lofty exhibition rooms there are smaller, pub-
lic rooms by the main entrance, such as the museum shop,
and there is a 340-seat theater. “The museum has conference
facilities and can be rented for business events,” Kooyman
commented. “In one space we’ve reconstructed an authentic
public square complete with shops and antiquities. Many
residents of The Hague will recognize The House of Lords
Hotel, which was torn down to make room for the Tweede
Kamer (Parliament) and stored until we had the opportunity
to reconstruct a portion of it in the museum. Here visitors can
enjoy refreshments.”
Another unique aspect is the automobilia. “The museum
contains more than just cars. The extensive collection of auto-
motive art, which includes paintings, sculptures, and posters,
forms an additional and unique attraction. This collection
of automotive art, the largest in the world, has never before
been on public display and is being exhibited in a specially-
designed room.”
The Collection
The collection originated in the former century in The Hague -
in Lekstraat, where Louwman & Parqui, a distributor of Dodge
automotives, was based. In 1934, Piet Louwman, the father of
the initiator of the collection, purchased a 1914 Dodge. Even
then, this was considered a classic car, and was intended to
draw the public to the showroom. Interesting cars that were
part-exchanged by customers were kept, and so the collec-
tion was born. This Dodge still has a place of pride in the
museum. Evert Louwman, Piet’s son, went on to purchase
the collection from the former Autotron museum in Rosmalen,
adding key pieces to the Louwman collection.
In 1968, the first museum opened in Leidschendam and
was known as the Nationaal Automobiel Museum (Dutch
National Motor Museum), but moved to Raamsdonksveer in
1981. The Hague was chosen as the site of the new museum
as the city constitutes a prestige location that befits this
unique and world-famous collection. In short, the collection
contains a broad spectrum of automobiles. Almost all of the
vehicles, many of which are rare editions, are in their original
Louwman Museum, rear side
Talbot-Lago T150C SS

3. 54 THE XPAT JOURNAL
In designing the Louwman Museum, we drew much of our
inspiration from the historical and physical context and strove
to give the new museum an identity of its own within its sur-
roundings. The location, in a magnificent park adjacent to
the Royal Palace, a residential district, and an historic indoor
tennis court, is enclosed by a canal and carefully thought-out
landscape architecture, screening it from the surrounding
buildings.”
Landscape architect Lodewijk Baljon, who has won many
international accolades, designed the park that surrounds
the new Louwman Museum, which has the feeling of a grand
estate. One of their architects, Robert van der Horst, pro-
duced a contemporary design for the park. A key task was
to restore some of the missing section of the Hague forest
between Marlot and the royal residence Huis ten Bosch,
thereby improving the ecological connection zone. As part
of this task, over a hundred mature trees have been planted.
After seeing the collection, one can’t help but reflect that
they certainly don’t make automobiles like they used to.
Whether you are making a trip down memory lane, or are there
out of curiosity or appreciation, you cannot help but conclude
that the styling, designs and workmanship are vastly impres-
sive. As Kooyman pointed out; “They used to truly build cars,
nowadays they just manufacture them.”
Louwman Museum, Leidsestraatweg 57, 2594BB The Hague
Open Tuesday thru Sunday 10 A.M. - 5 P.M.
Admission: € 13.50 p.p., groups (min. 20 persons) € 11 p.p.
children 6 to 12 years € 7.50 p.p., children under 6 free.
Parking € 5
Tel.: 070 - 304 73 73 - Internet: www.louwmanmuseum.nl
Thewebsite will soon be available in English. On how to get there by
car, see the route on the website. Bus 90, 91 stops at Waalsdorperweg
and often un-restored state. A prime example is the second-
oldest automobile in the world - a De Dion Bouton & Trépar-
doux from 1887 - complete with original signs of wear and
tear. The contrasts between the magnificent luxury cars of the
1920s and ‘30s and some of the first attempts at affordable
family cars are also stark, as are the differences between the
American, Japanese and national European cultures and the
cars to which they gave rise.
The collection also contains a broad spectrum of other
vehicles, including bubble cars, steam cars, electric cars and
historic racing cars driven by such legends as Tazio Nuvolari.
Other noteworthy vehicles include the eccentric Swan Car
from 1910, a hybrid Woods from 1917, the Jaguar D-type
1957 Le Mans winner and James Bond’s original Aston Martin
DB5. Moreover, there is one of Elvis Presley’s grand Cadillacs,
and a distinguished car owned by Sir Winston Churchill.
The Dutch motoring heritage is, of course, exceptionally
well-represented. The Louwman Museum boasts the world’s
largest collection of Spykers, as well as the last surviving
Eysink from Amersfoort, and a DAF 600 prototype from 1957.
The collection includes other automobiles with a Dutch back-
ground story, such as the Ferrari that belonged to HRM Prince
Bernhard and the orange racing Porsche owned by Esquire
Carel Godin de Beaufort.
The Location
Kooyman revealed that over 40,000 people have visited the
museum in the four months since it was opened, and proudly
noted, “We are a unique museum with a formidable collection
in a very special location; and we are neighbors to the Queen.”
As architect Graves stated: “I am both proud and grateful. For
an architect, designing a museum is one of the most reward-
ing assignments, because museums contribute to our cultural
history and help shape the collective perception of the public.
Mercedes-Benz SSK