Torture Museum, Amsterdam
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The Torture Museum, Amsterdam is a small museum in Amsterdam located near the flower market (Bloemenmarkt) overlooking the Singel canal. It's noted as one of the world's most unusual museums.[1]It also is a popular museum for tourists.[2][3][4] [5] A second museum related to the subject of torture in Amsterdam is the Museum of Medieval Torture Instruments.[6] This second museum has a different layout and is located in Damrak 33, close to the central station. The two museums aren't connected.
Museum Layout
The museum is a maze of small, dark rooms. Each room houses one or two torture devices, some are behind glass but many are situated in the room and can be touched. Each device is accompanied with an enlarged image from an old book or article featuring that device in use and a description of that device and how and why it was used. All of the articles are in English, Dutch, French, German, Italian and Spanish.[7]
Articles on display
The museum features a variety of devices, from well-known objects like the Guillotine, the rack and the stocks, to lesser known objects like thumb screws and the flute of shame. Other objects housed in the museum include the iron maiden, skull crusher, judas chair, Catherine Wheels and Scold's bridle. Some of the devices are genuine and antique, but many are modern reconstructions from old texts or books.[8]
Significance
The museum, whilst small, has a large influence. The museum regularly appears in lists of 'the top weird museums'[1][9] but also is regularly visited and cited in regards to the museum's extensive range of torture devices,[10][11] many of which now inspire humor[12] or become part of pop culture.[13][14][15] Several books mention the torture museum, including Torture.[16]
References
- ^ a b 'The world's most unusual museum' The Telegraph. Retrieved 2012-08-29.
- ^ 'torture museum review' Yelp. Retrieved 2012-08-29.
- ^ Amsterdam. Script. 2012. p. 39. ISBN 9788866146018. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
- ^ 'torture museum NYTimes' NYTimes. Retrieved 2012-08-29.
- ^ "Amsterdam museums". Retrieved 29 May 2013.
- ^ http://www.torturemuseumamsterdam.com Archived 2014-07-14 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Torture museum Amsterdam Mydestination review". Retrieved 29 May 2013.
- ^ "Torture Museum Amsterdam". Retrieved 29 May 2013.
- ^ 'World’s Creepiest Attractions' Check My City. Retrieved 2012-08-29.
- ^ 'Amsterdam Torture Museum'. Retrieved 2012-08-29.
- ^ 'Top 10 Medieval Torture Devices'. Retrieved 2012-08-29.
- ^ 'Who should wear the Flute of Shame?'. Retrieved 2012-08-29.
- ^ 'Iron Maiden'. Retrieved 2012-08-29.
- ^ 'Judas cradle pop culture'.
- ^ 'Brazen Bull pop culture'
- ^ Torture. University of Pennsylvania Press. 1996.