Rijksmuseum de Gevangenpoort

Rijksmuseum de Gevangenpoort

Rijksmuseum de Gevangenpoort
4
Speciality MuseumsHistory Museums
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
About
In the year 1280 AD, the gate to the outer courtyard or Buitenhof served as the main entrance to the castle of the Counts of Holland, known as the Binnenhof today. In 1428, this ‘Front Gate to the Court’ also became a prison. It was where defaulters were incarcerated and suspected criminals awaited their trials. It was a prison for four hundred years. The Prison Gate has been a museum since 1882. Ever since, it has been home to the biggest collection of instruments of punishment and torture in the Netherlands.
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Address
Neighbourhood: Kortenbos
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4.0
4.0 of 5 bubbles460 reviews
Excellent
151
Very good
209
Average
74
Poor
15
Terrible
11

These reviews have been automatically translated from their original language.
This service may contain translations provided by Google. Google disclaims all warranties, express or implied, with respect to translations, including any warranties of accuracy, reliability, and any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and freedom from forgery.

Alicia
2 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
June 2020 • Family
Today, following the new rules to visit museums, I made a reservation for four people to visit the Gevangenpoort museum. Although I made the reservation successfully with our museumkaarts in the museum website, I did not received an e-mail with the reservation details.

At the entrance I explained the situation to the security guard but he did not allow us to enter to the museum.

I am very disappointed about the way this situation was handled. The security guard did not even try to check if the reservation was in the system and made me accountable for the malfunctioning of the museum reservation system.

My advice for those who decide to buy a ticket in advance for this museum is to be careful with your confirmation, since the security guard will not move a finger to proof if the reservation was processed in the reservation system.
Written 7 June 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

FamilyPeoples
Birmingham, UK78 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
July 2023 • Couples
Fascinating insight into The Hague history. Interesting to see the old buildings and cells which are well preserved, with good explanations of what they were used for. Striking to see the difference in rooms that were used for the rich and poor. Quite a small museum - took about an hour to visit. Some interesting, unpleasant torture instruments. This was a holding area for people awaiting trial, or being interrogated, as opposed to a location for punishment - corporal and capital punishment took place opposite, in public. Paintings in the museum give an insight into how The Hague looked in the past.
Written 5 July 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Trek785517
1 contribution
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2021 • Solo
I was there today for a tour. I had no preconceived ideas about the attraction at all. One thing I can tell you for certain is it is haunted. Floor 2 specifically where the poorer prisoners were kept. Very heavy atmosphere, I got dizzy and nauseous and saw a brief light flash in the dark prison cell out of the corner of my eye. Just a quick flash. I was standing there all alone, no one was around me. The other rooms were okay, but floor 2, not so much. I mentioned it to one of the guides. He said he was sensitive to it also. Otherwise an interesting attraction. Brutal, but that is the history as it was.
Written 31 August 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

tedonmaui
Trang Province, Thailand12 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2024 • Solo
You'll never commit a felony after visiting the cells, and punishments, at Prison Gate. Perfectly preserved, down to the prisoners' Dutch cell graffiti this was an eye-opener. The staff are young and delightful, even the guards. This is a slice of life that brings the Rembrandt-era to life.
Written 7 April 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

ilihan
Belgium32 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
July 2024 • Couples
Authentic museum, lots of explanations (but you will miss some stories without the audio guide). Certainly don't forget to take a look outside (pain cellar + squeaking through the window of the sandbox and the kitchen). You really feel like you're in prison life back then.
Automatically translated
Written 31 July 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

aNGeL0FdEAth
Dubai, United Arab Emirates602 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2022
Prison gate was in my bucket list for quite a while. Got a thing for the Witt brothers and this place is one of the landmarks I wanted to visit.

It isn't a big place. I guess not many prisoners were hosted. However, it was nice to see how prisoners were housed based on their ranks and as such. Very few exhibits but they were well presented. I liked the torture chamber and the guillotine.

Definitely holds a lot of history. The drawings made by the prisoners are still there. I guess, quite a lot of sorrow went into them.
Written 27 July 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Jan R
1 contribution
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2023 • Friends
Nice museum and very interesting. The only thing that left me with a strange aftertaste was the fact that if one of the friends was ill, his pre-purchased ticket was not refunded.
While the site clearly indicated that this was possible.
I therefore advise you NOT to make a reservation in advance. This is certainly not necessary for the visit. Possibly for the tour.
Google
Written 20 October 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Schonefeld
Jakarta63,947 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2017 • Solo
Hello

Visited Gevangenpoort Museum ( Prison Gate) in September 2017.

I just love the unusual museums where you can learn things that you have never known before and be entranced in the atmosphere of the place and history it represents.

Our visit to the Prison Gate Museum included a guided tour by default. This is because the cell complex can only be viewed with an official guide. All tours are in Dutch only, but audio guides in English are available ( included into the ticket price) , plus several brochures with the text in other languages. You can also book a private guided tour in English by prior request and extra fee, you have to contact the museum in advance. The first tour starts at 10:45 a.m. and the last tour starts at 3:45 p.m.
Unfortunately the narrative in my English audio guide was about 1/6th of what the guide was telling in Dutch and few English speaking visitors ( including me) were in the unfavorable position from the provided information point of view. We felt a bit excluded from the group communication.
The Prison Gate Museum opened its doors in 1882. Ever since, it has been home to the biggest collection of instruments of punishment and torture in the Netherlands. The museum uses the old historic structure and the extensive collection of judicial instruments to show the views society held on crime and punishment until the nineteenth century.
From 1420 until 1828, the prison was used for housing people who had committed serious crimes while they awaited sentencing. Communal underground cells, women`s cells, interrogation rooms, judge rooms, Torture Chamber etc...all are parts of the tour.

Its most famous prisoner was Cornelis de Witt - our guide told us the fascinating story of his prominent figure in the Holland`s history: his imprisonment, famous prison break and following execution - he was held ( we visited his private cell in the attic) on the charge of plotting the murder of the stadtholder. He was lynched together with his brother Johan on 20 August 1672 on the square in front of the building of Gevengenpport.

In 1882, the Gevangenpoort became a prison museum and functioning as such since then. Prices ( as of 2017)
Adults € 10,00 € 12,50
Children aged 12 and under € 6,00

Highly recommended.

regards

S
Written 18 October 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear Schonefeld, Thank you for taking the time to review us. We are happy to hear you enjoyed your visit to the Prison Gate Museum. I will forward your feedback about the length of the audioguide. We hope to see you again! Kind regards, Romy Meijer Prison Gate Museum
Written 20 November 2017
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Stephen P
Ilford, UK154 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
De Gevangenpoort is a prison gate museum that's attached to the Galerij Prins Willem V. The combined ticket is €10 for an adult or free with a museum card. The visit starts with the Gevangenpoort prison tour, which leaves every 15 minutes from the main entrance courtyard. Note that the tour and galleries have a lot of stairs so this is not suitable for wheelchair users. They also suggest that the tours are not suitable for under 10s. The tours are conducted in Dutch only, which I found surprising for a tourist attraction in a major European city; however, we were the only non-Dutch-speaking visitors on that tour so maybe that's fair enough. In lieu of being able to follow everything, we were given an English pamphlet which gave us pretty much a word-for-word translation of the tour (judging from the amount of Dutch I could understand). The tour guide was very enthusiastic and gave a fun tour of the gruesome prison building from the cells to the torture chamber.

After the tour, you have two choices: (1) to continue through the rest of the Gevangenpoort galleries or (2) visit the Prince Willem V gallery. I've numbered them this way because that's the order I would recommend, based on the layout of the complex.

To enter the rest of the Gevangenpoort galleries (down the stairs by the ticket desk) you have to gain access by scanning your ticket's barcode at the door. The exhibition didn't really add much to what was said on the tour but housed a few artefacts related to the prison (all labelled in Dutch only). After about three rooms (and three sets of stairs) you find yourself at the bridge joining the Gevangenpoort to the Prince William V galleries (see separate review).

Overall, for €10, I would have expected to see a little more. However, I expect it costs a lot to maintain the building. If you don't speak Dutch and you'd be satisfied reading the pamphlet and/or have a museum card, then by all means go ahead and visit, but there are better value museums in the Hague, such as the Escher museum.
Written 9 December 2010
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

retex
Saffron Walden2 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
June 2012 • Friends
We were really looking forward to visiting the museum having visited it many years ago as a child. The ticket prices were very expensive for what you got to see and the guide spoke only in Dutch. The insult came at the end of each room where the guide asked in English if the English speakers had any questions yet had not described the room first in English. What annoyed me was that the group we were with filled the room preventing us from perusing ourselves with the English guide and the security guard that following the tour physically prevented us from staying behind in the room to see the artefacts for ourselves. It probably was a fascinating place but made impossible for us to enjoy any part either visually or auditory by the nature of the tour.
Written 12 June 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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Rijksmuseum de Gevangenpoort, The Hague

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