Museum · Haia, Holanda Meridional

Panorama Mesdag

Circular painting from 1881, 14.70 meters high and 114 meters in circumference, showing the village and beach of Scheveningen as seen from the top of a dune. One of the oldest panoramas still in existence.

Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.

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About Panorama Mesdag

The Panorama Mesdag is a cylindrical painting 14.70 meters high and 114 meters in circumference. Visitors climb onto a platform in the center and are surrounded by the landscape: the village of Scheveningen, the dunes, the beach and the North Sea, as they were in 1881.

The work was painted by Hendrik Willem Mesdag, a marine painter of the Hague School, with the help of his wife, Sientje Mesdag-van Houten, and other artists including George Hendrik Breitner. It is one of the oldest panoramas still existing in the world.

In the 19th century, panoramas like this were popular entertainment in Europe: a way to see another place without traveling. The real sand at the foot of the platform helps confuse where the floor ends and the painting begins.

The museum also displays paintings by Mesdag and Sientje and hosts temporary exhibitions of marine and landscape painting.

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Before you go

Practical information

Cidade Turismo reviews its information regularly, but something may have changed. Check with the place before planning your trip.

How much time to set aside

About 1 hour.

Best time

Any time; with few visitors the sense of being inside the landscape is greater. Confirm the opening hours before you go.

How to get there

It is on the Zeestraat, about a 15-minute walk from Den Haag Centraal and a few minutes from the Palácio Noordeinde and the Palácio da Paz.

Tip

Visit before going to Scheveningen beach: comparing the 1881 scene with today's promenade is the best part of the visit. There is an audio guide available online.