PRESS RELEASE - MIDNIGHT RUN GROUP – BAAN HOLLANDA
Baan Hollanda
We are happy to welcome you to Baan Hollanda. We would give you a sneak prieview of Baan Hollanda Information Centre, located in the heart of Ayutthaya. The dull, dark and dusty museum experience ends here. Baan Hollanda is the place to discover how Dutch traders worked, lived, and played
in 17th century. Our historic site and collection of historic artifacts are vital to the history of both
Thailand and the Netherlands, with the potential to foster knowledge, learning, creativity and joy.
Through digital trading games, visitors can experience interactive exhibitions. Baan Hollanda’s purpose
is to educate audiences about the Dutch VOC settlement in Thailand. Each part of the exhibition highlights a different aspect of the Thai – Dutch relationship. The site integrates a modern replica of the former
Dutch trading lodge with ruins of the original 17th century building. 00000000000000000000000000000
Moreover, the museum provides an exclusive show case about the Dutch apply water management to protect its community, economy and premises from flooding. The visitors can learn about
the Dutch history in this field and several flood protection systems that have been used to protect flood prone areas in the Netherlands and could potentially be used in Ayutthaya and Thailand.
In addition, we offer facilities for companies, schools, families and friends to gather at meetings, seminars, workshops and parties. Also, visitors can discover Dutch treasures, such as wooden shoes, Delft blue ceramics, VOC ships
and much more in our souvenir shop and have a taste of delicious Dutch coffee in the Baan Hollanda coffee shop.
Our story
During the celebrations of 400 years of Thai-Dutch relation in 2004, Her Majesty Queen Beatrix and His Royal Highness the Prince of Orange, accompanied by Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn visited Baan Hollanda. H.M. Queen Beatrix donated a royal gift to establish an Information Centre near the
site of the Dutch lodge. The Thai Fine Arts Department excavated the site during 2003-2005 and in 20092010. Those excavations not only revealed the foundations of the trading post, but also unearthed many
valuable types of artifacts, such as Chinese porcelain, pottery, Dutch pipes and metal coins.000000000
The history
By the early 1600’s the Dutch received land and permission to build a lodge on the east bank of the Chao Phraya
river south to the city of Ayutthaya, which in itself is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Dutch settlement developed into a separate village and was known to be the most elegant and the grandest in the entire Kingdom.
The two-story structure, enclosed by a stockade, was known to the Dutch as de logie, the red building. The original building was destroyed by invading Burmese armies in 1767.0000000000000000000000000000000000000
Nowadays, Baan Hollanda is situated on the land where in the seventeenth century the Dutch United East India Company (Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie) built their first trading post. It has a unique location – an attractive modern
building in the middle of a garden, near the Wat Phananchoeng Temple, and a beautiful view on the Chao Phraya River.
The architecture is based on descriptions Dutch merchant Gijsbert Heeck made in his diary in the seventeenth century about the trading post at that time.0000000000000000000000000000 000000000000
In his journal, he described that the Dutch lodge was a settlement surrounded by water and enclosed by a bamboo
palisade, guarded by strong gates. In front of the museum building the remains of the first Dutch trading post can be
seen. The museum is situated next to the river and has a pier where boats can dock.00000066660000000000000000000
For press inquiries and/or interviews regarding Baan Hollanda, please contact:
Rangsanee Thuammu – General Manager
Telephone: + 66 (0)85 070 7309 E-mail: [email protected]
Postal address: 15 Soi Tonson, Ploenchit Road, Lumpini, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330. Thailand.
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