Leiden American Pilgrim Museum
Encyclopedia
The Leiden American Pilgrim Museum is a small museum in the Dutch city of Leiden dedicated to the Pilgrim Fathers (or simply Pilgrims). These Separatists or English Dissenters
were religious refugees who had fled England and lived in Leiden for about 12 years. In 1620, they left Leiden for the New World
on board the Mayflower
. Their first harvest festival after their arrival at Plymouth Colony
was the origin of the annual Thanksgiving
celebration in the U.S.
The Leiden American Pilgrim Museum is housed in a building dating to about 1365-1370. The house is located at Beschuitsteeg 9, next to the bell tower of the Hooglandse Kerk
church. The museum is operated by the Leiden American Pilgrim Museum Foundation and is open to the public Monday through Friday (1 to 5 p.m.) and Saturdays (10 a.m. to 5 p.m.)
The museum aims to present "the reality behind the Pilgrim myth". In the museum, the interior of a home in the time of the Pilgrims has been recreated. The museum also displays a collection of 16th- and 17th-Century maps and engravings by Gerard Mercator, Adriaen Pietersz. van de Venne, and others.
In 2009, the 400-year anniversary of the Pilgrims' arrival in Leiden will be marked with an exhibition and the publication of several books, among others. The museum is to be extended with a restored room where 17th-Century engravings will be put in display. The room also has a medieval fireplace that will be used to illustrate the Pilgrims' cooking and eating habits.
Separately, the regional archives of Leiden (Regionaal Archief Leiden) maintains a special section on the Pilgrims under the name Pilgrim Archives Leiden . In Plymouth, Massachusetts, there is another museum dedicated to the Pilgrims, the Pilgrim Hall Museum
.
English Dissenters
English Dissenters were Christians who separated from the Church of England in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries.They originally agitated for a wide reaching Protestant Reformation of the Established Church, and triumphed briefly under Oliver Cromwell....
were religious refugees who had fled England and lived in Leiden for about 12 years. In 1620, they left Leiden for the New World
New World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
on board the Mayflower
Mayflower
The Mayflower was the ship that transported the English Separatists, better known as the Pilgrims, from a site near the Mayflower Steps in Plymouth, England, to Plymouth, Massachusetts, , in 1620...
. Their first harvest festival after their arrival at Plymouth Colony
Plymouth Colony
Plymouth Colony was an English colonial venture in North America from 1620 to 1691. The first settlement of the Plymouth Colony was at New Plymouth, a location previously surveyed and named by Captain John Smith. The settlement, which served as the capital of the colony, is today the modern town...
was the origin of the annual Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the...
celebration in the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
The Leiden American Pilgrim Museum is housed in a building dating to about 1365-1370. The house is located at Beschuitsteeg 9, next to the bell tower of the Hooglandse Kerk
Hooglandse Kerk
Hooglandse Kerk is a Gothic church in Leiden dating from the fifteenth century. The brick church is dedicated to St. Pancras and today serves parishioners of the Protestant Church in the Netherlands.-History:...
church. The museum is operated by the Leiden American Pilgrim Museum Foundation and is open to the public Monday through Friday (1 to 5 p.m.) and Saturdays (10 a.m. to 5 p.m.)
The museum aims to present "the reality behind the Pilgrim myth". In the museum, the interior of a home in the time of the Pilgrims has been recreated. The museum also displays a collection of 16th- and 17th-Century maps and engravings by Gerard Mercator, Adriaen Pietersz. van de Venne, and others.
In 2009, the 400-year anniversary of the Pilgrims' arrival in Leiden will be marked with an exhibition and the publication of several books, among others. The museum is to be extended with a restored room where 17th-Century engravings will be put in display. The room also has a medieval fireplace that will be used to illustrate the Pilgrims' cooking and eating habits.
Separately, the regional archives of Leiden (Regionaal Archief Leiden) maintains a special section on the Pilgrims under the name Pilgrim Archives Leiden . In Plymouth, Massachusetts, there is another museum dedicated to the Pilgrims, the Pilgrim Hall Museum
Pilgrim Hall Museum
The Pilgrim Hall Museum in Plymouth, Massachusetts is the oldest public museum in the United States in continuous operation, having opened in 1824.-History:...
.
External links
- The Pilgrims' Leiden museum Web site
- VVV Leiden: Leiden American Pilgrim Museum tourist information
- Pilgrim Archives Leiden