10 Oddball Museums in Amsterdam

Amsterdam is known for its incredible selection of museums, where you can see modern art and classic materpieces by famous artists like van Dyck, Rembrandt, and the favorite Dutch son, Van Gogh. If you’re anything like me, though, you might want to learn a little more about the offbeat, sometimes illegal, and often bizarre things that have made Amsterdam such a haven for the eccentric. From the history of hash to human heads in jars and outmoded musical instruments, you can find just about anything on display in Amsterdam, and that’s where these 10 oddball museums come in.

Vodka Museum
Okay, so Amsterdam is not necessarily known as a vodka-drinking city, per se, but anything related to partying is welcome, so the Vodka Museum makes some sort of sense. This small museum is housed in an old canal townhouse and spans three stories with a history of vodka,old Soviet posters, and some history on bartending. Of course, the real draw is the disco-colored bar at the end where you get your free sample.

Electric Ladyland - Flourescent Art Museum
Created by American artist, Nick Padalino, the glowing Electric Ladyland (the name of which is a reference to a Jimi Hendrix song) is dedicated to all things fluorescent. Mostly you will see a lot of flourescent minerals that glow under black light. The “participatory” exhibit allows you to freely roam and explore an entirely glow-in-the-dark room covered in psychedelic colors.

Museum Vrolik - Anatomic Embryological Museum
If you are fascinated by the grotesque, you will want to check out the collections of anatomical and zoological “specimens” collected by Professors Gerardus and Willem Vrolik (father and son) and housed at the Museum Vrolik - Anatomic Embryological Museum at the University of Amsterdam’s medical school. The two were slightly obsessed with human anatomy, so the collection contains numerous pieces of human bodies, from embryos to bones and human abnormalities, many of which are preserved in jars. Totally spooky.

Pianola Museum
The now-obsolete pianola, a self-playing piano, is commemorated in the dimly-lit Pianola Museum, which takes you back to the turn of the 20^th century, when the instrument was widely popular. The museum houses a collection of pianolas (including an adapted Steinway grand) and over 20,000 carton rolls, which were used to power the auto-instruments.

Cat Cabinet
Cat owners can probably related to Bob Meijer, who founded the Cat Cabinet museum to immortalize his feline friend, J. Pierpont Morgan (yes, that was really the cat’s name) after the cat's passing in 1983. The museum is located in the lower levels of Meijer’s house (where he still lives) and features a heap of artwork exclusively depicting cats. There are also four friendly felines living on the premises, just to make the place truly authentic. Though the banknotes featuring J. Pierpont Morgan’s effigy are a little over-the-top, it seems some famous artists portrayed cats in their works, including Picasso.

Pijpenkabinet - Pipe Museum
Everything you ever wanted to know (and lots you didn’t want to know) about the history and culture of smoking tobacco is immortalized in this peculiar little Pipe Museum. Starting from around 500 B.C., the museum covers tobacco use around the world through a relatively intelligent display of historic pipes, tools, records, wrappers, and other curios. As could be expected, there’s also an adjacent pipe shop where you can pick up antique and regular-use pipes.

Brilmuseum
Specs have never been cooler thanks to the funky Brilmuseum, started by the Theunissen family, who were obsessed with glasses (odd, right?). The museum, which sits above an old optician’s shop, houses hundreds of pairs of historic spectacles and offers insight to the history of glasses-making, as well as the fashion of glasses, which has been influenced by icons like John Lennon and Buddy Holly.

Tassen Museum Hendrikje - Museum of Bags and Purses
Hendrikje Ivo was the ultimate bag lady, and I don’t mean to say she was homeless. The Dutch Carrie Bradshaw of the early 1900s, Ivo collected hundreds of handbags from around the world that are now displayed in the well-presented Tassen Museum Hendrikje - Museum of Bags and Purses. Even if you aren’t a shop-a-holic, you will appreciate the craftsmanship and detail that went into some of these unbelievable purses, which include glittering, cupcake-shaped evening bags, French bridal bags and, of course, limited edition designer bags by the likes of Alexander McQueen, Louis Vuitton, Fendi, Gucci, and others.

Sex Museum
Sex is on display all over Amsterdam (especially in the Red Light District), but the rather tawdry Sex Museum combines a collection of artifacts and documents into a theme-park-like attraction, complete with old school sound effects emanating from unseen corners to complete the museum’s cheap sense of humor. Don’t be alarmed by the two large phalluses on display near the entrance - they make for a good photo opp.

Hash, Marihuana & Hemp Museum
Pot-smoking is probably the biggest cliché associated with Amsterdam. Still, it’s hard to resist a museum dedicated solely to the city’s favorite pastime: cannabis. Actually, the Hash, Marihuana & Hemp Museum, which consists of two galleries, offers a rather cerebral and historical look at the uses of hemp and cannabis throughout the years, and goes on to address some of the social questions surrounding its recreational uses around the world.

Photo 1: Evan Jackson, Creative Commons 2.0

Which of these oddball museums would you most like to visit? Share your thoughts in the comments below!