Rediscovering hemp

For a sustainable future

A second museum venue, on the same canal, was added in 2009 to display even more of the museum’s unique collection. The Hemp Gallery is dedicated to the long history and wider uses of the hemp plant. From paper and sails, to food, plastics, high fashion and design.

Hemp throughout history

Industrial hemp is one of the oldest cultivated crops on Earth. The varieties cultivated for industrial use contain hardly any psychoactive components. Nevertheless, they belong to the same family as the marijuana sold in the coffee shops of Amsterdam. Throughout history, countless different products have been manufactured from hemp. The history of the hemp plant is a history of kings and emperors, wars and merchants and, just as importantly, it is the history of ordinary citizens and traders.