Anne Frank Museum in Amsterdam

The sad story of Anne Frank and her family is known throughout the world thanks to multiple film adaptations. Her diary, Het Achterhuis: Anne Frank, in which she described the events that happened to her and her loved ones during World War II, was published only after her death and the end of the war. Het Achterhuis literally translates from Dutch as "the back house." This house served as a shelter for the Frank family, and on May 3, 1960, it was opened to the public and acquired the status of a museum. Let's tell you more about the famous Anne Frank House Museum.

How to get to the Anne Frank Museum?

Ticket prices:

• For adults: 14 €
• For children 10-17 years: €7
• For children 0-9 years: 1 €

The museum is very popular, about one and a half million people from different countries visit it every year. Pre-booking tickets will help you avoid waiting in line, you can book them only on the official website . The museum is specially equipped so that people with disabilities can also visit it.

To better immerse yourself in the history and fate of the Jews of the Netherlands, book a tour of Anne Frank's places . You will visit not only her home, but also the Jewish Quarter of Amsterdam, and learn not only the details of Anne's fate, but also how the whole of Amsterdam experienced World War II.

Book a themed tour of Amsterdam

Museum address: Prinsengracht 263-267.

To get there from Amsterdam Centraal , take bus 170 (direction Uithoorn via Amstelveen), bus 172 (direction Kudelstaart via Amstelveen), tram 17 (direction Osdorp Dijkgraafplein) or tram 13 (direction Geuzenveld). Get off at the Westermarkt stop, walk a little forward towards Prinsengracht and turn right. The total travel time is 10 minutes.

Museum opening hours: 9:00 to 22:00

The museum shop sells a copy of Anne's diary, Het Achterhuis: Anne Frank, in many languages, including Russian.

There is also a cafe at the museum with an interesting interior and atmosphere.

It is worth noting that the museum has certain visiting rules and visitors may be expelled for inappropriate behavior and non-compliance with the rules. For example, dogs are prohibited from entering the museum, and baby strollers are asked to be left in a specially designated place in the central hall. Video and photography are also prohibited in the museum, and accordingly, it is prohibited to bring photo and video equipment and large bags (including women's bags) inside.

You can take a virtual tour of the Anne Frank Museum completely free of charge.

The Story of Anne Frank

The house where the Frank family lived is located in the central part of Amsterdam, at the address: Prinsengracht 263-267. The houses were built back in 1635. From 1740 to 1746, a merchant lived at this address, who built the very same back house in which the Frank family later found refuge.

In 1940, Anne's father, Otto Frank, moved his Opekta and Pectacon businesses from the Singel Canal to the house at Prinsengracht 263. In 1942, the Frank family set up a shelter in the back house, with the entrance through a closet. Another Jewish family, the van Pels, joined the Frank family. A little later, Anne's father's acquaintance, Fritz Pfeffer, joined them.

Four employees of the company owned by Otto knew that behind the closet there was a door to the back house, which served as a refuge for several people. During the entire time that the Frank, van Pels and Pfeffer families were hiding in the back house, these people had to take full responsibility for the delivery of food, clothing, books, newspapers and schoolbooks (to think less about her situation, Anna tried to spend as much time as possible studying and reading), and also to make sure that none of the neighbors or visitors guessed about the secret refuge. In her diary, Anna wrote that in addition to this, employees often came just to chat and did their best to provide moral support to the families, saying that the war should soon be over. It is worth noting that living together in a small space under persecution for a couple of years turned out to be a great test for these people. Anna wrote that sometimes the adults seriously quarreled.

Unfortunately, on August 4, 1944, following a tip-off from a telephone call, German commander Karl Silberbauer visited the shelter, accompanied by four workers who had helped the Frank, van Pels and Pfeffer families hide. As a result of this visit, everyone in the back house, as well as two of the Frank family's employees, Viktor Kugler and Johannes Kleinmann, were arrested. The diary kept by Anne was saved by two other employees, Bap Voskawijl and Miep Hees.

How was the Anne Frank Museum created?

After the war, the only surviving member of the Frank family, Otto, returned to Amsterdam. Anne died of typhus in a concentration camp in Bergen-Belsen, Germany, presumably in February 1945. The Frank family's business, Opekta, was still in existence at the time and was owned by another company, NV Berghaus. The owners of the company were planning to demolish some of the houses on Prinsengcht, including the Frank family home and their "back house", to build new offices and a studio. However, due to public pressure, Berghaus was forced to hand over all of these houses to a foundation.

On 3 May 1957, the Anne Frank Stichting was founded with the aim of restoring the historic site. Houses 263-265 on Prinsengracht were restored. It was house number 263 that was opened on 3 May 1960 as the Anne Frank Huis – Anne Frank House. In 1990, permission was granted to expand the museum. In 1999, after reconstruction, the museum was ceremonially opened by Queen Beatrix.

At present, the following have been completely reconstructed and are open to museum visitors: the business of Anna's father, his personal office (to which the original furniture was restored), the office of Miep Hees, an employee of the Frank family business, the kitchen in the back house, the third floor, which was occupied by the van Pels family, and Anna's room.

The story of Anne Frank is considered one of the defining stories in modern Dutch culture.

 

We wish you a pleasant trip to Amsterdam!