Airborne Museum Hartenstein

[airborne medic]

Then perhaps the last one.....this is the front of a house which will be part of the 'street fighting' section.....
A nice touch is the broken glass at the first floor window.....

[ronald]

Some pics taken today.

Airborne Museum Renovation 2008-2009

[Mark Hone]

Great pictures, but is the museum really going to be ready to reopen in September?

[ronald]

Well, the official opening is scheduled for sunday 20 september. More than
2 month to go so that must be okay.
They are now busy with the pavement and already have asphalt the lanes in the Park
behind the museum. And as you can see on my pics, the lights already burn in the new part.

[ronald]

These are the official dates.

The museum will be open on 28 august.
The official opening is 20 september but only for invited guests,
so the museum is closed for the public on this day.

[Paul Pariso]

I'm not sure if any of our members will be able to answer this but here goes. Is the new part of the museum at the rear going to be left partially sticking out of the ground or is the plan to ultimately bury it completely?
I've just looked at the latest pictures from ronald's post and as much as I hate to say this but if that is the final layout for the rear, then IMHO it looks awful . Please let me be wrong!!

[Paul Pariso]

Hi all,
Well we got back from Arnhem yesterday and I have to say the trip was excellent! Great weather, great hotel, lots of touring around the battlefield etc etc. We were even lucky enough to get a guided tour of the Bridge area by David van Buggenum (B Company Arrived). As for the 'new' museum, my feelings are divided. The underground diorama is quite impressive but the main part of the museum left me a bit cold! Many of the old exhibits are gone and the new layout, whilst obviously more 'user friendly' came across as being very clinical and cold. The place seems to have lost its "soul" if that makes sense. When I visited it back in 2006 the building "felt" like the Divisional HQ, now IMHO, it could be any one of a dozen museums I been to. I can appreciate what the new Board have tried to do, ie make the place more attractive to a younger audience with the various interactive elements etc. and to make it accessible to wheelchair bound visitors (definitely a good point) but it just felt empty to me. The gardens at the rear are, again IMHO, spoilt by the black walls rising from out of the ground (I guess to allow for health and safety regs. and a fire exit from the diorama area). A friend of mine who was with us made quite a good observation when he said that perhaps each of the bricks in the walls could have had the name of a casualty on it. At least this would help to break up the monotonous "blackness".
Maybe I am being too harsh and I'm sure that, judging by the number of visitors that were there, the 'new' museum will be a great success, but I just can't shake the feeling that something has been lost.........

[TomTAS]

Hi Paul,

I think I agree they also need to add the photos back and a German down stairs in that room you walk into, would look good looking down at you with a bloody great gun...

Cheers
Tom

[Philip Reinders]

A lot of people agree with you Paul

[Lofty1]

Hi Paul. glad you had a good trip,the museum has for me lost its" it happened here feel" but my 13 year old grandson thought the underground bit was great,and he is the generation that we need to now take an interest, I asked him to lay the wreath for Rodley at Quatre-Bras, which he did, I dont think he will forget doing that.