The outlines of a lost world

In the early Middle Ages, Tota Frisia was many times larger than the contemporary Dutch province of Friesland. Along with that area, it also encompassed parts of modern-day Groningen and Germany. No central power ruled over this vast region, and the result was interclan feuds and a proliferation of castles and cloisters. The exhibition reveals the outlines of this lost world.

Tota Frisia

Medieval Tota Frisia’s rise and fall is depicted in a series of galleries, each with its own atmosphere and spatial visual language. Small wooden houses called stinzen scattered through the space provide a glimpse of the interclan power relationships of the day.

Rats in the museum

A replica of a cloister containing religious objects bathed in contemplative light explores the role of faith more deeply.

The exhibition concludes with the dismal final years of the Middle Ages. Rats scurry across the museum’s walls. The end of Tota Frisia is in sight.

A voyage of discovery

Guided by a treasure map, kids can embark on a voyage of discovery. In hidden areas of the exhibition, they'll discover how heavy a coat of chain mail is and get a chance to write on slates.

Students from the ROC Friese Poort vocational college in Sneek have built a replica of a historic structure for this exhibition, as they did for 2019’s ‘We Vikings’ – this time, a working medieval catapult.

A day of inspiration

Before starting to work on developing the concept for the exhibition, we took a field trip with museum staff. During our day of inspiration at Ter Apel Monastery, we answered the journalist’s questions: who, what, when, where, why? It was the ideal first step toward recreating a lost world.