The oval room

Today I was in Haarlem round and about and visited the Teyler Museum, what is the first museum realised in our country - 1784 it opened its doors to the public and that's earlier then Napoleon started the Louvre in Paris for the public there. Both in Haarlem and Paris this happened with the same reasons of the Enlightenment = permanent education to the people!

Teylers Museum was named after Pieter Teyler, a wealthy banker and silk manufacturer from Haarlem. He was a real exponent of the Enlightenment and had a great interest in the arts and sciences - disciplines in which he immersed himself out of a belief that man was enriched by knowledge.

Teyler's Will stipulated that his fortune should be used to establish a foundation whose various purposes included the promotion of the arts and sciences.
Its executors decided to build a public museum that could bring together exhibits from these two fields. Books would be provided for study, and scientific instruments for demonstrations. Drawings would be discussed during viewings. Fossils and minerals would be used in public lectures.

Thus a 'book and art room' was built behind Teyler's house and due to its shape, it quickly became known as the Oval Room. Since the museum's opening in 1784, this room has remained virtually unchanged - making Teylers Museum an authentic eighteenth-century museum.