Formal Reopening of the Hermitage–Amsterdam Exhibition Centre at the End of the Period of Restrictive Measures
On Saturday 5 June 2021, after a half-year pause in its operations due to the restrictions introduced by the Dutch government to prevent the spread of the coronavirus infection, the Hermitage–Amsterdam Exhibition Centre reopened its doors to visitors.
The exhibition from the collection of the State Hermitage “Tsars & Knights. The Romanovs’ Love Affair with the Middle Ages” opened on 7 November 2020 and ran for just 27 days. On 3 December, a lockdown was announced in the Netherlands, and all the country’s cultural institutions were closed.
During the long months since, work in the Hermitage–Amsterdam Centre did not cease for a single day – preparations for new displays continued; a large-scale campaign was launched to collect funds to support the exhibition centre and was a great success. One million euros will help this branch of the State Hermitage in the Netherlands to survive the difficult post-pandemic period.
Ingrid van Engelshoven, the Dutch Minister of Education, Culture and Science, and Annabelle Birnie, formally re-opened the Hermitage–Amsterdam Centre to visitors on the morning of 5 June 2021.
Mikhail Piotrovsky, General Director of the State Hermitage, congratulated the Centre on this event: “Our joint work with the Hermitage–Amsterdam Centre never stopped for a day. We are very pleased that today the public has come back to the museum and is able to enjoy what has been done.”
Invited guests at the opening ceremony included the children who had won the LEGO competition. This past spring, during the lockdown, the Hermitage–Amsterdam Centre held a competition for the best constructions in LEGO bricks on the theme of the exhibition “Tsars & Knights. The Romanovs’ Love Affair with the Middle Ages””. The splendid creations of the children and their parents are on show in Amsterdam in a special display of the winning entries.
The Hermitage–Amsterdam Exhibition Centre’s partner museums – the Amsterdam Museum and Museum of the Mind, whose displays are located within the centre – also opened their doors to the public.
All safety measures are being taken at the Hermitage–Amsterdam Centre to allow visitors to feel comfortable – maintaining a distance of 1.5 metres, the compulsory wearing of masks and advance ticket sales.