Teylers Universe

Teylers Universe is dedicated to the first half century (1784-1826) of Teylers Museum in Haarlem: the first and oldest public museum in the Netherlands. The purpose of the website is to establish digital cross-references between the various collections (Art, Paleontology, Mineralogy, Numismatics and Scientific Instruments).

By wandering through the museum's stories, you can trace the relationships between the collections, the monumental building, and all manner of visitors and leading figures. These are stories about the people who made Teylers Museum great: not just scientists, Directors and board members, but also famous visitors such as Napoleon Bonaparte and the naturalist Alexander von Humboldt.

At the same time, through background information on the phenomena of eighteenth and nineteenth-century collecting, scientific experiment and charity, the site provides a unique glimpse into museum practice in a bygone age.

The website reflects Teylers Musem’s policy of making the integrity and historical authenticity of its collections and building accessible to a wider public. The museum’s uniqueness was confirmed recently by the museum’s candidacy for the UNESCO World Heritage list – for Teylers Museum is the only place in the world where visitors can still view an authentic eighteenth-century museum gallery (the Oval Room).