Stedelijk Museum Alkmaar is a great place to share your enjoyment of art, culture and history. As well as the permanent displays, the museum stages temporary exhibitions several times a year with a diverse programme of events and activities. Stedelijk Museum Alkmaar is an ideal venue for families with children and a great place to spend an afternoon. Looking together is much more fun.

Photo: Mike Bink

Always on show

Alkmaar’s Golden Age 

Be overwhelmed by the finest works by Old Masters like Jacob Cornelisz van Oostsanen, Maarten van Heemskerck, Pieter Jansz Saenredam and Caesar van Everdingen. The paintings are set off by an exceptional collection of furniture, fine silver and seventeenth-century glassware.

Photo: Roel Backaert

Portrait of Alkmaar

In this captivating portrait of the city through the ages you will discover famous residents of Alkmaar past and present.

The Bergen School

Visit the permanent Bergen School exhibition with artists like Charley Toorop, Leo Gestel, Arnout Colnot, and Piet and Matthieu Wiegman.

Victory!

The interactive historical exhibition about the Siege of Alkmaar will fascinate the whole family. Live the siege from day to day.

Temporary exhibitions


Piet van Wijngaerdt: Founder of the Bergen School
Until 12 May, Stedelijk Museum Alkmaar is focusing on modern painting. Art collector and guest curator Renée Smithuis has put together a special monographic exhibition on Piet van Wijngaerdt (1873-1964), the founder of the Bergen School. The work Van Wijngaerdt produced at the height of his career is remarkably powerful and complex and the show includes unique pieces from private
collections.

Photo: Roel Backaert

The Caesar Project
Caesar van Everdingen is the Rembrandt of Alkmaar: our greatest seventeenth-century painter. Stedelijk Museum Alkmaar is home to many of his works. They hang proudly on the walls of our galleries – save for one. Van Everdingen’s earliest civic guard painting, made in 1641, is currently undergoing a thorough restoration. Part of the process is being carried out in the museum, in public view, every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
From 23 March to 10 June 2019 / small gallery

Photo: Roel Backaert

Coming soon

herman de vries: At Your Feet
Stedelijk Museum Alkmaar commissioned the internationally renowned artist herman de vries, who was born and raised in Alkmaar, to make a unique work that literally brings him back to his birthplace.
From 1 June to 1 September 2019

Pieter van Schaeyenborgh: Master of the Fish Still Life
This summer Stedelijk Museum Alkmaar presents the first exhibition of works by Pieter van Schaeyenborgh (active 1635-57). This seventeenth-century artist, almost unknown until recently, was one of the most skilled Dutch painters of fish still lifes, and the only painter active in Alkmaar who specialized in still lifes.
From 22 June to 27 October 2019 / small gallery

The Toorop Dynasty
In the autumn of 2019 Stedelijk Museum Alkmaar will showcase the life and work of Charley Toorop, who spent a large part of her career working in Bergen. Daughter of a famous and influential artist and mother of a gifted painter, she was the key figure in the Toorop dynasty, largely from her base in Bergen. The Toorop Dynasty will introduce visitors to the artistic similarities in the work of Jan Toorop, Charley Toorop and Edgar Fernhout, and examine the relationships between them.
From 28 September 2019 to 26 January 2020

Visit Alkmaar


Alkmaar is an attractive city of culture with a rich history. It has several museums and splendid monuments including the Grote or Sint Laurenskerk. The many original boutiques in the ‘old town’ make Alkmaar a true shoppers’ paradise. After a day visiting museums and shopping, you can enjoy the friendly cafés and restaurants. And of course you don’t want to miss the famous cheese market between April and September!

Tourist Information