Cider in Zicht opens at De Gerdeneer with ten interpretive panels, an ambitious search for cider artifacts and a mission to document the Netherlands’ emerging cider culture while its history is still being written.
The first cider museum in the Netherlands doesn’t yet have display cases filled with antique presses, historic bottles or centuries-old orchard tools.
In fact, it doesn’t have a collection of artifacts at all..at least not yet.
What Cider in Zicht does have is ten educational panels, a home among the persimmons, grapes, pawpaws and plums growing inside the greenhouse at De Gerdeneer, and plenty of room to grow.
Cider in Zicht is Dutch and translates roughly as “Cider in Sight” or “Cider in View.” The phrase in zicht can also carry the sense of something coming into view or on the horizon, which fits especially well with a museum documenting an emerging Dutch cider culture.
For cidermaker Marcel Janssen, the idea developed after roughly a decade of making cider and watching people become increasingly curious about what happens between the tree and the bottle.
“The idea grew naturally from my passion for craft cider and the realization that while cider has deep roots across Europe, the story behind it remains largely untold in the Netherlands,” he told eCiderNews.
That curiosity convinced him cider needed something more than a place to drink it.
“If we want people to understand and value cider as an agricultural, artisanal product, we need a dedicated space to show that story — a living home for cider culture rather than just a tasting room.”
That idea became Cider in Zicht.
Starting a Museum From Scratch
For now, the museum consists of ten educational panels set amid the greenery of De Gerdeneer’s greenhouse, which visitors can enter directly from the terrace.
The exhibition explores the revival of traditional standard orchards — hoogstamboomgaarden — the differences between dessert apples and dedicated cider varieties, wild yeast fermentation, barrel aging and cider’s place in modern gastronomy.
It also reaches into Dutch pomological history.
Marcel is highlighting forgotten local apple varieties that were once widespread in Dutch orchards but disappeared as industrial fruit production took over.
For visitors, he says, learning about those varieties while surrounded by living orchard greenery can create an instant “aha” moment.
Although, as Marcel points out, there aren’t actually any apple trees growing inside the greenhouse.
The exhibition also looks beyond the Netherlands to cider cultures in the UK, France, Asturias and Germany.
Eventually, Marcel wants Cider in Zicht to develop into a permanent, interactive cultural institution with historic machinery, craft exhibits, educational workshops and an active archive of the Dutch cider movement.
One image already on display has particular meaning for him.
It is a photograph of his 83-year-old mother sorting apples in an orchard. She still works in the company.
“I would not have been able to pull this off without her,” Marcel said.
For him, the photograph captures the “young and old” factor in cider — a connection between generations that fits naturally into a museum devoted to preserving cider culture.
Wanted: Cider History From Barns, Cellars and Attics
Now Marcel needs objects to go with the stories.
Cider in Zicht is looking for cider, orchard and pomological artifacts that can help build the museum’s collection.
His wish list includes wooden harvesting crates, traditional picking ladders, vintage pruning shears, demijohns, early manual crown-capping tools, hand-cranked fruit mills and parts from basket presses.
His dream find would be something considerably rarer: a well-preserved 19th- or early 20th-century wooden spindle press from a Dutch estate, or an antique pomological album documenting regional Dutch cider and perry varieties.
But donations don’t have to come from the Netherlands.
Because the exhibition also tells the stories of established cider cultures elsewhere in Europe, Marcel is interested in objects from those regions as well.
That includes the UK — and the timing could hardly be better.
Marcel will be driving to the West Country during the first week of January and has a message for anyone there who suddenly realizes they have a piece of cider history tucked away.
“Let me know and we will make a stop!”
Documenting Dutch Cider as It Happens
Cider in Zicht isn’t only looking backward.
Part of its mission is to document a Dutch cider culture that is taking shape right now.
Unlike long-established cider regions such as Normandy, Asturias or Herefordshire, the modern Dutch craft cider movement is still young. Marcel sees that as an opportunity.
“We can capture its history as it happens,” he said.
He wants to archive the stories of Dutch cidermakers alongside historic artifacts so the development of this new cider culture is documented for future generations. He also hopes to connect with more Dutch producers as the museum develops.
Marcel has already witnessed a striking change in cider awareness during his own decade in the industry.
His first cider tasting group had never even heard of cider.
Over time, he estimates that awareness among his tasting groups rose from roughly 10 percent to 100 percent among those coming from the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Utrecht region.
Even in what he jokingly calls the Netherlands’ “slow South,” more than half now arrive with some knowledge of cider.
At a recent tasting for 15 local women over the age of 55, all but one had tried cider before.
“So people are starting to notice!” he said.
The cidermaking itself is evolving too.
Marcel points to a growing community of Dutch craft producers working with wild fermentation, single-variety pressings, co-fermentations and barrel aging.
For cider to establish an even stronger identity in the Netherlands, he believes chefs and sommeliers need to embrace it as a natural partner at the table, alongside wine and craft beer.
Consumers also need more opportunities to connect cider with orchards and understand the diversity of cider and its terroir.
A museum can help make that connection.
Why Cider Deserves a Museum
Ask Marcel what he hopes someone who knows almost nothing about cider takes away from Cider in Zicht, and his answer gets to the heart of the project.
“We want them to understand that cider is not an alcopop or simple sweet apple juice with bubbles; it is living agricultural heritage and a complex, gastronomic fermented drink.”
Behind every good bottle, he says, are landscape management, biodiversity, orchard stewardship, centuries of fermentation knowledge and human craft.
“Giving cider a cultural home gives respect to that entire journey.”
And there is one more thing he hopes happens after someone walks through the exhibition.
“I hope they come out of the expo with the need to taste!”
A Wassail Meets Vastelaovend
The newly opened cider museum was also part of Festival RIJP!, a gathering at De Gerdeneer that brought together music, art, culture and community in and around the greenhouse.
One of the festival’s highlights took visitors out of the greenhouse and into the orchard.
About 70 people walked with Marcel into the orchard, illuminated by fire, where he introduced the gathering to the tradition of wassailing. They toasted traditionally and emptied a barrel of cider as Marcel talked about a centuries-old cider custom that had led him to an unexpected connection with his own culture.
Wassail, he realized, shares striking similarities with Vastelaovend, or carnival — what Marcel describes as the biggest celebration of the year in his region.
Both traditions turn ordinary life upside down for a short time. There is dressing up like fools, drinking together, moving from one season toward another and wishing for a good year on the other side of the celebration.
After the wassail, two musicians with guitars played “The Angel’s Share” and walked the gathering back to the greenhouse, where an “end of summer party” began.
There was, however, one departure from tradition.
The wassail happened in October.
January, Marcel explained, is simply too busy with Vastelaovend.
He wanted people to experience this cider tradition anyway.
So he moved it.
“Just did it in October,” he said. “Sorry for the purists!”
For the first cider museum in the Netherlands, it may be an appropriate beginning: preserving traditions from cider’s past while leaving plenty of room for a distinctly Dutch cider culture to develop next.
Cider in Zicht is located at De Gerdeneer in the Netherlands. The museum is building its collection and is seeking cider, orchard and pomological artifacts from the Netherlands and other European cider regions.
Visit Cider in Zicht
Cider in Zicht is located at De Gerdeneer in Boekend, near Venlo, Netherlands. The museum is free to visit and is located in De Gerdeneer’s greenhouse.
Marcel Janssen is continuing to build the museum’s collection and is looking for cider, orchard and pomological artifacts from the Netherlands and other cider regions. Have something that might belong in the collection? Get in touch.
Contact De Gerdeneer
- Website: degerdeneer.nl
- Email: info@degerdeneer.nl
- Address: Sitterskampweg 1055927 NJ Venlo Netherlands
About eCiderNews™
eCiderNews™, published by Cider Chat®, delivers independent reporting, industry insights, and global cider stories for the people who grow, make, sell, serve, and enjoy cider.
Stay Connected
🍎 Subscribe to the eCiderNews newsletter for the latest cider news and analysis.
🎙️ Listen to the Cider Chat podcast for conversations with cider makers, orchardists, and industry leaders.
📬 Share a story tip: news@ciderchat.com
You must be logged in to post a comment.