As the main sponsor of the Dutch Funerary Museum Tot Zover, ‘the Facultatieve Group’ demonstrates the importance it attaches to the retention of cultural heritage. The museum - located in the grounds of Cemetery De Nieuwe Ooster in Amsterdam (Kruislaan 124) - attracted large crowds when it was opened by funerary historian and initiator Henk Kok on 19 December 2007.
Dutch Funerary Museum Tot Zover tells us about how we deal with death on the basis of four themes: Rituals, the Body, Mourning & Remembrance and Memento Mori. The collection provides an overview of the traditions and customs in the fields of death, burial and mourning process in the Netherlands. It features objects relating to the funeral industry, such as the uniform of an undertaker’s man and a flit sprayer, which was used to eradicate unpleasant smells in the death-rooms. In addition to that, it pays attention to modern funeral rituals, for instance those in other cultures.
Of course there is also room for the history of cremation in the Netherlands, in which the current Royal Dutch Cremation Society (established in 1874) played a leading role. The museum furthermore houses a detailed replica of Crematorium Westerveld, the first crematorium of the Netherlands, which saw its first cremation on 1 April 1914.
For more information: www.totzover.nl
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