History

In 1851 the Royal Yacht Club Society, which was chaired by Prince Hendrik, took possession of this elegant, classical-style mansion on the Willemskade. Society members soon were donating maritime collectors' items and model ships. This resulted in 1873 in the Prince Hendrik Maritime Museum. After the prince's death, the building was turned over to the municipality, which decided in 1883 to create an ethnographic museum, as Leiden and Haarlem had done. Dutch trade relations abroad, growing colonialism, increased missionary activities and the newly emerging science of ethnology all created demand for such a museum.

The Museum voor Land- en Volkenkunde (Museum for Geography and Ethnology) opened its doors on 1 May 1885. Interesting objects were donated mainly by Rotterdam's shipping community, diplomats and the Netherlands Missionary Society. Soon there was a shortage of space but this was solved by the construction of a third floor made entirely of concrete. This was added to the building in 1910. The two museums remained under the same roof until after the Second World War, and even shared a director.