A new Holland House Information Centre or Baan Hollanda in Thai is planned near the former Dutch Settlement concession provided by Thai Kings at Ayutthaya Court.
BANGKOK – A piece of Holland is due to be revived in Ayutthaya, the former capital city of the Kingdom of Siam. Back to 2004, during the celebrations of 400 years of Thai-Dutch relation, H. M. Queen Beatrix and H.R.H. the Prince of Orange, accompanied by H.R.H. Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn visited the site where the remaining foundations of a huge brick building which used to serve as a lodge for the Dutch VOC (Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie). The Dutch East India Company was founded in 1602 and liquidated in 1795 and was the largest and most impressive of any early modern trading companies operating in Asia. Dutch VOC-merchants first arrived in Ayutthaya in 1604 with the King of Thailand allowing them to establish their first trading post in his capital Ayutthaya in 1608. During the 400th anniversary celebration, Queen Beatrix made a royal gift in order to establish an information centre near the site of the Dutch lodge.
A decade has passed and the project is now ready to open. The Dutch Government provided € 500,000 (US$ 640,000) to build a replica of the lodge which serves as a museum and information centre. A small coffee shop funded by private sponsors will offer Dutch brewed coffee and small dishes.
As a contribution, the Thai Fine Arts Department excavated the site during 2003-2005 and in 2009-2010 and found many artifacts, such as Chinese porcelain, pottery, Dutch pipes and coins which will be on display at the museum. Baan Hollanda aims to educate audiences about the Dutch settlement, how they worked, lived and interacted with Siamese society and court.
Construction of the museum started in 2010 and was finished in 2011. It is due to open in February 2013. With two other information centres, one from Japan and one from Portugal, Baan Hollanda will show how Ayutthaya used to be one of Southeast Asia’s most cosmopolitan urban centres, where dozens of ethnic groups, Asian and European, lived and worked under Ayutthaya King’s sovereignty.
A facebook link about Baan Hollanda has been set up with a new website to be activated until early December. Baan Hollanda hopes to be an integrated part of future tourist itineraries around Ayutthaya.
Luc Citrinot a French national is a freelance journalist and consultant in tourism and air transport with over 20 years experience. Based in Paris and Bangkok, he works for various travel and air transport trade publications in Europe and Asia.
