Cruquius Museum - Cruquius

Add Cruquius Museum to your cycle route and get carried away with the story of the reclamation of the Haarlemmermeer. Marvel at the power of 19th century steam technology and the centuries-long struggle against the water. Together with the steam pumping stations Leeghwater and Lijnden, Cruquius pumped out the Haarlemmermeer from 1849 to 1852 and kept the resulting polder dry until 1912. On 10 June 1933, Cruquius was decommissioned with a ceremonial last stroke of the pump. The Cruquius Foundation saved this unique steam pumping station from demolition in 1934 and turned it into a museum.

The steam pumping station is the technical highlight of the romantic steam era in the Netherlands and is an anchor point in the European Route of Industrial Heritage (ERIH), a network of industrial heritage sites in Europe. Get off your bike here for a visit to this museum and go back in time to the 'Delta Works of the 19th century' culminating in a demonstration of the largest steam engine in the world. Next to the museum you can blow off some steam at the Theehuis Cruquius before you jump back on your bike.

Source images: Haarlemmermeermuseum Cruquius