History of Christianity, Museum Style

This afternoon, I felt a little stir crazy, but not quite ambitious enough to pedal across town to the gym. Instead, I decided I would take advantage of the fact it wasn't raining or snowing yet, and check out another museum in Utrecht. (By the way, now huge snowflakes are falling. While the snow is pretty from inside, I'm glad I'm not riding my bike in it.)

I knew that Mr. Traveler wasn't too interested in seeing the Museum Catherijneconvent, so I decided it would be a good solo adventure. (During our trip to Paris, we saw plenty of ceremonial objects from the Middle Ages, and I don't think he was interested in revisiting the topic.) The museum specializes in the history of Christianity in the Netherlands and is currently hosting a temporary exhibit called "Unimagined Beauty, Icons from Macedonia".

Courtyard at Catherijneconvent

With the Museumkaart, the entry fee was reduced from €11.50 to €2.50, although I was a little confused because I gave the cashier exactly €2.50 and he handed me back 50 cents. By the time I realized this, though, he was on to helping the next customer, so I just let it go. I stowed my coat in the cloakroom and wondered back through the bookstore and into the museum.

First, I visited "Feest", an exhibit about holidays in the Netherlands. Since it was upstairs, it gave me the opportunity to pass by a large, modern stained glass window, spanning several floors. I really like the colors in the stained glass, and am considering going back to buy a print of it.

Part of the very tall stained glass window

I think the Feest exhibit was mainly designed for children, but I didn't let that stop me from having a quick walk through. Besides, since all of the information was in Dutch, I would say that the children's understanding of the exhibit probably far exceeded mine. I did think the juxtaposition between the modern, interactive portion of the exhibit and the very old, traditional paintings on the wall made for an interesting experience. 

Feest Exhibit

Next, I headed downstairs to the permanent exhibition, which opens with an introductory room, filled with a variety of Christian memorabilia from different periods of time. The contraption in the picture, below, left me a little confused, and, the Jesus backpack is just a little too much for my taste.

Odd Contraption and Jesus Backpack

I did like the showing of Delft pottery, though. I find the blue and white patterns beautiful, anyway, but this display also demonstrates how location can dictate the materials used in ceremonial objects.

Delft Pottery Used in the Church

After the introductory exhibit, a dark room displayed chalices, maces, and jewelry worn by bishops. With many of the items adorned with jewels or plated in gold, this room seemed to demonstrate the excesses of the church throughout history, although I'm pretty sure that wasn't its purpose.

Back upstairs (but this time on the other side of the building), rooms were dedicated to the history of the church in the Netherlands. 

I like the arches!

No English explanations were provided, so it was easy to glance at everything and then move to the next room. (I'm not really being fair, because I could have gotten an English explanation if I bought the €14 book in the bookstore. I just wasn't that committed to understanding every part of the exhibit.)

One room was entirely dedicated to Christian history in Utrecht. Since I'm a sucker for old books, I enjoyed glancing at the texts in this room. 

Book from Utrecht

Finally, I moved up to the last part of the museum, the temporary exhibit about icons in Macedonia. This portion of the museum had booklets in both Dutch and English explaining every single object, along with some additional history lessons.

Booklet on the Macedonia exhibit -- So much information.

It was nice to be able to glance down and find out more information when I saw an interesting object, but I didn't have the energy to read through every explanation. Plus (I'm guessing because the exhibit opened this month), this portion of the museum was much more crowded, and therefore, I felt the need to stay out of the way of other visitors.

One of the many rooms in the Macedonia Exhibit

In case you are wondering, the explanation about the wooden chandelier reads as follows: 

Wooden chandelier

Monastery of Pološko, near Kavadarci, 1492

National Museum of Macedonia, Skopje, 317/143 (Kavadarci) 785
A chandelier hangs in the middle of the church as a reference to the heavenly Jerusalem. The arches with the cross depict the gateways in the city walls. Additionally, a burning candle is the symbol of Christ. He called himself The Light of the World.

The chandelier was number 5 of 158 objects, just so you understand why getting through the booklet would have been a challenge. Really, who can process all of that information?

Anyway, I'm glad that I went to this museum, and some of the exhibits, like the stained glass, the old books, and the pictures of churches with dogs inside, spoke to me. However, I'm pretty sure I've seen all the old chalices and incense holders I need to see for a while.