ROTTERDAM, 21 May 2026 – Museum Rotterdam has officially received the keys to Het Steiger, marking a major step towards a new permanent home for the city museum. Alderman for Culture Said Kasmi handed over the keys to the reconstruction monument, where the museum will develop its future home over the coming years.
Image: Key handover. Alderman Kasmi presented the keys on a replica of the cushion once used to ceremonially offer Rotterdam’s city keys to important leaders. Photo: Lotte Stekelenburg
The symbolic handover gives Museum Rotterdam a fixed place again after years without a permanent city museum location. Het Steiger sits at one of Rotterdam’s most historically charged spots, by the water of the city’s first harbour and close to the dam in the Rotte where Rotterdam began.
City museum gets home
With Het Steiger, Museum Rotterdam gains more than a building. The former church and monastery complex connects the city’s earliest history, the post-war reconstruction and Rotterdam’s renewed relationship with the water in one location.
Kasmi framed the handover as a new chapter for the museum and the city. “With the key to the Steigerkerk, a new chapter begins for Museum Rotterdam and for our city. After years, Rotterdam finally has a city museum again: a place where Rotterdammers feel at home and visitors can discover what makes Rotterdam so special. This is a moment we have long looked forward to.”
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Het Steiger carries history
Het Steiger is a reconstruction monument (wederopbouwmonument) designed by Kraaijvanger Architects. The complex includes a large church hall, chapel, bell tower, monastery housing and an inner garden.
The building is better known to many Rotterdammers as the Steigerkerk or Citykerk Het Steiger. The complex is located at Hang 18 and also has an entrance at 1e Nieuwstraathof 2, right in the heart of the city.
Collection returns to centre
Museum Rotterdam plans to use the spaces for a future-facing city museum programme. Visitors will eventually find Museum Rotterdam ’40-’45 NU here, which moves from Coolhaven, alongside a new public entrance, a city timeline, family installations and education programmes.
The museum also plans an heritage cabinet where it can work with heritage partners from across Rotterdam. The large hall will be used for changing exhibitions and programming, while the square around Het Steiger is intended to become an open place for activities with the city.
Director sees ideal base
Museum Rotterdam director Léontine Meijer-van Mensch says the site’s meaning makes it the right home for the museum. “It is wonderful that we have found a new home in such a meaningful place in the city. Het Steiger breathes the history of Rotterdam: from the first settlements to the reconstruction after the bombing, and the renewed connection with the water today. It is precisely here that we can bring the story of the city to life in a powerful and accessible way. It feels like the ideal home base for Museum Rotterdam.”
The church was still in use until early 2025. In 2024, 2d Vastgoed and NL-development BV brought the church and monastery complex to the attention of Museum Rotterdam and the municipality as a possible new use for the site.
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First phase starts soon
Museum Rotterdam describes the next period as a start-up phase. Together with the municipality, which owns the building, the museum is preparing a phased development of the location.
The first focus is on creating the public entrance, installing ’40-’45 NU and making other parts of the complex suitable for pop-up events and exhibitions. V8 Architects is responsible for the design, with the renovation expected to be carried out during 2027, after which the museum can open.
V8 shaped the plan
V8 Architects had already argued that the Steigerkerk could become a strong new home for Museum Rotterdam. The Rotterdam firm described the church as a hidden treasure that could develop into a lively and valuable place for the city.
That idea now moves from proposal to reality. The broader redevelopment of the adjacent buildings remains with 2d Vastgoed and NL-development BV, which plan to realise city apartments and office space there in the coming years.
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Keys echo city tradition
The key handover came with a historical wink. Kasmi presented the keys on a replica of the cushion once used to ceremonially offer Rotterdam’s city keys to important leaders.
The original cushion, now in Museum Rotterdam’s collection, was presented to King Louis Napoleon in 1806, Emperor Napoleon I in 1811 and King William I in 1813 when they came to the city. Very Rotterdam, really: even the key handover comes with layers of history tucked underneath.
The festive afternoon included music by the SLR Brassband of Rotterdam’s Summer Carnival, linking the moment to the city’s living and diverse heritage. Photo: Lotte Stekelenburg
First visitors looked inside
The festive afternoon included music by the SLR Brassband of Rotterdam’s Summer Carnival, linking the moment to the city’s living and diverse heritage. Museum Rotterdam also holds objects connected to that heritage in its collection.
After the official ceremony, one hundred Rotterdammers were given the first chance to explore Het Steiger during exclusive guided tours. A full museum will take time, but this was the moment the doors started to open again.
How to get there
Het Steiger is located at Hang 18 in the city centre, close to the Steigersgracht, Hoogstraat and the Laurenskwartier. From Beurs or Blaak, it is a short walk through the historic heart of Rotterdam, with RiF010 and the water nearby as easy landmarks.
