The Historisch Museum Den Briel Maarten Harpertszn. Tromp (formerly the Trompmuseum) was established as the ‘Municipal Museum’ in 1912 by the municipality of Brielle, partly as a result of the generous gift to the town of Brielle of over 1400 valuable historic pictures by patron Alexander Verhuell. The museum has formed part of Brielle’s municipal organisation since then.
The museum was initially run by a museum committee established by Brielle municipal council, which was assisted by a secretary: curator Jacques Klok. The museum committee acquired a large part of the museum’s collection by making purchases and accepting loans and donations. To support the museum, both financially and in acquiring objects for the museum, the Vereniging Vrienden van het Historisch Museum Den Briel (Association of Friends of Brielle Historical Museum)(now called Historische Vereniging De Brielse Maasmond) was founded in 1958.
At the start of the 1990s the museum was extensively renovated in line with current museum standards. In addition, professionals with a museum background were also appointed from 1986. The professionals are assisted in their work by sixty volunteers, whose contribution is vital.
The museum has had the status of Registered Museum since 1998.
The collection now comprises some 7000 objects, of which 400 can be seen in the museum. The other elements of the cultural heritage of Brielle and environs are stored in the museum stores. A large number of objects are displayed in the tower of St Catharine’s Church (Sint-Cathartijnekerk), Brielle Medical Centre (Medisch Centrum Brielle), Brille Cultural Centre (Cultuurhuis Brielle), in the displays of other municipalities and museums, and in shop windows etc. The collection is recorded in the Adlib collection registration system and can be accessed via the museum’s website (see database).
The museum celebrated its centenary in 2012. The museum marked that occasion by completing an enlargement of the stores and an appealingly refurbished museum. The book Honderd Jaar Verzamelen 1912-2012 (One Hundred Years of Collecting 1912-2012) was also published.
The new museum was officially opened by Queen Beatrix on 31 March 2012. Watch the video here.
The refurbishment of the stores and the museum was possible because the museum had been left inheritance by Cornelia van der Linden. Brielle municipal council decided to spend the inheritance on transforming the regional museum into a museum with a theme with national appeal: the Eighty Years’ War. Where better to do that than in Brielle, which was the First Taste of Freedom on 1 April 1572?
Brielle Historical Museum seeks to collect objects through gifts, loans and purchases that provide a tangible record of the Eighty Years’ War or the history of Brielle and its environs. These can be prints, drawings or paintings, but also three-dimensional objects.
