Museum STAAL - Almen

Get to know the Staring family and the influence they had on Almen and the surrounding area. A.C.W. Staring was a Dutch urban planner and physicist, but is best known as one of the most important poets in Dutch literary history.

Staring was born into a noble family and grew up on the Wildenborch estate in Vorden. He studied law in Utrecht, but eventually chose a life as a landowner and poet. In his poetry, he drew inspiration from nature and rural life and wrote about themes such as love, religion and death.

Besides his literary work, Staring was also active as an agronomist. He introduced new farming methods and developed, among other things, a new type of fertiliser. He was also involved in the reclamation of moorland and the development of irrigation systems.

In Almen, where Staring spent the last years of his life, the museum STAAL is named after him. The name stands for STAring in ALmen (STAAL).

In the museum you can trace the family tree from the father of the famous poet A.C.W. Staring to the current residents of castle De Wildenborch. Read and listen to some of his poems and songs in the poetry room or the music room. Staring lived in the Romantic era, so of course there is room to experience the beautiful Achterhoek and all its romance.

Photo: ©Geert de Groot