History History History
The Frans Hals Museum is Haarlem’s museum of fine art. Home to the world’s biggest collection of Frans Hals’s paintings, alongside works by famous Haarlem artists such as Judith Leyster, Cornelis van Haarlem and Jacob van Ruisdael. And discover also the museum’s rich collection of art from the 1880s to the present day, with works by Piet Mondriaan, Charley Toorop and Rineke Dijkstra. Discover the Frans Hals Museum at two historical locations in Haarlem’s centuries-old city centre.
At the time, 400 years ago, the city of Haarlem started to purchase high-level art and display it in the city hall complex. The municipal’s art heritage has since then been exhibited, managed and expanded without interruption. The unique collection includes the world’s largest compilation of paintings by Frans Hals. In 1913 it was moved to the former Old Men’s House at Groot Heiligland, which was dubbed Frans Hals Museum. See famous works by Frans Hals alongside other old, modern and contemporary art. Since 1913 the museum has also shown and collected contemporary art. The collections of photography, video, film- and computer art have an international reputation. The Frans Hals Museum presents exhibitions of modern and contemporary art at the 17th-century Vleeshal, the former meat market on Grote Markt.
Come and enjoy Haarlem’s 16th- and 17th-century, modern and contemporary art in two beautiful historical buildings in the old city centre.