The Boerhaave Museum, located in Leiden, The Netherlands, is the Dutch National Museum for the History of Science and Medicine. It occupies the historic building of the former St. Cecilia convent in Leiden, tracing over four centuries of scientific progress, with a special focus on the contributions of Dutch researchers. The idea for a national museum dedicated to the natural sciences emerged in 1907, and in 1928 physicist Claude August Crommelin (from Leiden University), founded the Museum for the History of Natural Sciences. In 1947, it became a national institution under the name “Dutch National Museum for the History of the Natural Sciences”. To reflect its broader scope, it was given a new name “Museum Boerhaave” in 1967, in honor of Herman Boerhaave, the renowned Dutch physician and naturalist often called Communis Europae praeceptor (“teacher of Europe”). The museum’s permanent exhibition includes a reconstruction (1988) of the Theatrum Anatomicum of Leiden University, originally built in 1596. In the seventeenth century, this circular theatre was used for public dissections, serving both as an educational space and a moral reminder of human mortality. Today, visitors can experience the theatre through immersive 3D animations that bring back the atmosphere of early anatomical study. Recognized for its outstanding presentation of the history of science, the Rijksmuseum Boerhaave won the title of European Museum of the Year (2019)1. Building on this recognition, it continues to expand access to its collection through a digital catalog documenting thousands of scientific instruments, thus sharing the Dutch scientific legacy with a global audience.
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- Visit the museum's digital collection digital catalog ------—