A Museum within the Foundation, 1779–2020

An important aspect of Teyler’s Foundation is its visibility through the Museum and its collections. Starting with a single room, which revealed itself to the visitor as a ‘surprise’ behind Teyler’s house, the Museum developed in stages into an extensive complex that presents itself clearly in the city. The key moments in this process are summarized here in four plans, which show the situation in 1791 (figure 3.1), 1839 (figure 3.3), 1909 (figure 3.7) and 2020 (figure 3.17). In this chapter the line is continued to the present day, because Teyler’s Foundation, as one of the few of its kind, has survived with its original conception and housing.