Museum 't Behouden Huys Terschelling West-Terschelling - Museum

The Conservation House is a historic location that has played an important role in Dutch history. It is one of the oldest wooden buildings in the world and is known as the first wintering house built in the Arctic. Het Bevangen Huys has a rich history and offers visitors a unique opportunity to learn more about the voyages of discovery of the Dutch navigators.

The Bevangen Huys was built in 1596 by Willem Barentsz and his crew. Barentsz was a Dutch explorer who was looking for a new sea route to Asia. However, his expedition was hit by setbacks and the crew was forced to spend the winter on Nova Zembla.

Het Bevangen Huys was the crew's home base during their wintering on Nova Zembla. It was a small wooden building with two rooms, one for the crew and one for the storage of provisions. It was a modest shelter that was mainly built to protect the crew from the extreme weather conditions on Nova Zembla.

During their wintering, the men of the expedition were forced to survive with limited resources. They had little food and water and had to keep themselves warm with the help of wood fires. Despite the hardships, the men managed to survive and returned to the Netherlands in the spring of 1597.

The Bevangen Huys is now a museum dedicated to the voyages of discovery of Willem Barentsz and his crew. The museum offers visitors a fascinating insight into life on board a ship during the 16th century and the challenges the crew faced during their wintering on Nova Zembla.

The museum has an extensive collection of objects that are related to the expedition of Barentsz. For example, navigation instruments, ship models and artifacts from the Bevangen Huys are on display. One of the highlights of the museum is a replica of the Bevangen Huys, where visitors get an idea of the living conditions during the winter.