At Soesterberg, the machines stand beside human stories
The National Military Museum leads visitors from a mounted knight and aircraft to photographs from present-day Ukraine. It is open on Monday 19 October.
On the former Soesterberg air base, the National Military Museum brings the history of land and air forces together. Large machines catch the eye, yet the permanent route begins with the people who used them. The museum is open on Monday 19 October during the autumn school holiday.
Yellow arrows first lead through the story of the Dutch armed forces, according to the museum. Visitors hear personal accounts from service members, discover the different branches and see a 360-degree dome film. The equipment further along the route thus has a human context from the start.
The scale changes in the Arsenal. A mounted knight and Landsknecht soldiers open a timeline around 1300; further on are cannon, tanks and aircraft. The Treasury adds paintings and older weapons. The museum shows more than a line of vehicles: equipment, art and memory belong to different periods of the same history.
The temporary photo exhibition War Stories. Ukraine up close turns attention to a war that continues today. Eddy van Wessel’s black-and-white photographs and video portraits of Ukrainian service members and prisoners of war show the people behind the news. The museum recommends a minimum age of twelve for this exhibition and warns of distressing images.
Xplore offers younger children another way in. Its play structures include a Chinook, a tank and a submarine. This play area is separate from the age recommendation for War Stories. Groups with children of different ages can decide in advance which parts suit them.
The NMM is open on Monday 19 October from 10 am to 5 pm; its autumn holiday page confirms the extra Monday opening. Its address is Verlengde Paltzerweg 1, 3768 MX Soest, on the site near Soesterberg. The current programme and visitor information are available on the museum website.