National Braiding Museum | Reed Braiding School - Noordwolde

In the middle of the rock village of Noordwolde lies the National Braiding Museum. A hospitable, contemporary and certainly child-friendly museum housed in the former National Reed Braiding School. The braiding of reeds and other materials, one of the oldest crafts in the world, takes centre stage here.

The museum tells the story of the inhabitants, who had migrated from the Colonies of Benevolence (Frederiksoord, Willemsoord and Wilhelminaoord) to the surrounding fields. There, they built sod huts and tried to build a form of livelihood by mining peat. There was much poverty and much disease among the population. Later, people tried to improve this by weaving baskets from willow twigs, among other things.

The museum explains how this eventually led to a lot of cottage industry, the foundation of the National Reed Braiding School and the later factories where chairs were woven that were known all over the world. The demise of the braiding industry and its consequences are not left unmentioned either.

An audio tour is available at the museum. A multilingual presentation on this special story can be seen in the old braiding room. The extensive 'National and International Braiding' collection includes how braiding was used to make different types of baskets and designer furniture.

Take a look in the old director's room. Many things are organised for children: holiday activities, school projects, children's braiding cafés. At the museum, they can tie knots and braid with pulp cane.

There are also regular braiding demonstrations inside and outside the museum. For those who want to master braiding themselves, there are braiding cafes and workshops. Check the website for more information about the activities.