At the beginning of 2025, Museum Prinsenhof Delft will close its doors for a major renovation. Part of the collection will therefore move to the Stedelijk Museum Breda as part of ‘Museum Prinsenhof Delft NAAR BUITEN’. Together, the museums will present the temporary exhibition ‘Willem! – which presents the history of William of Orange in Delft and Breda for the first time and brings together the collections of both museums in one building.
The temporary closure of the Prinsenhof provides a unique opportunity to display the Delft collection in Breda and to tell the full story of William of Orange. Visitors will be presented with a unique diptych in the form of a permanent exhibition (The Nassaus of Breda) and a temporary exhibition Willem! This meeting is the opportunity to learn everything about William and the Nassaus in one place: his beginning and his end and all that preceded it.
Michiel van Mierevelt (1566-1641), Portrait of William of Orange,1620-24
Museum Prinsenhof Delft
The story of the permanent exhibition The Nassaus of Breda in the Stedelijk Museum Breda ends with the departure of William of Orange in 1567. William had to flee for his life because he no longer wanted to obey the King of Spain. The Prinsenhof Museum tells the story of the prince and his stay in Delft. It was from this city that he led the fight for freedom of conscience that became known as the Eighty Years’ War. On 10 July 1584, Willem was assassinated in the Prinsenhof.
Both Nassau towns had an impact on his life and Dutch history. Breda is the starting point of what could have been a wonderful career for the Prince of Orange. There is his palace, his roots and his predecessors are buried. In Delft you will find the end of his life, his tomb and the beginning of his fame as father of the nation.