Hilversum Things to Do

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The Beeld en Geluid building is unique in the world. Its coloured glass panel outside with movie screen shots embedded is an ever changing colourful reflection.

In the building you realize the size is twice as big, due to the deep 5 stories basement archives of the Dutch media.

The Experience part offers a great daytrip activity in both sound and vision. There are many interactive things you can participate in or just explore your own media preferences. During your visit you can add personal favorites, which will be archived for you and you will be notified by email where to find these.
There are special activities for small children.

Opening hours Experience:
Tu-Su: 10AM - 5.30PM

Entrance fee: Euro 14 (inhouse parking Euro 5).

Very interesting, both from the outside - decoration on the facade designed by graphic artist Jaap Drupsteen! - and from the inside.
Beeld en Geluid houses the video and sound archives of the Dutch public broadcasting associations and the Beeld en Geluid Experience (which I would translate 'Sound & Vision Experience', rather than Vision and Sound, that just doesn't sound right ...) See my travelogue. Entrance fees 2008: adults 13,50 euro, children 6-15 pay 7,50 euro, children under 6 years free.
Perhaps less interesting for foreign visitors, unless they want to delve very deep into the Dutch cultural heritage.

I was fortunate to find a church across the street from my hotel. Lucky because 3 days after my arrival, I celebrated my birthday.

However, no one could tell me the name of the church except that it is a Catholic Church. It was a big church with several doors that I can't figure which one to use until an old lady came out of the side door.

The is a remarkable building in a neo-Baroque style, designed by P.A. Weeldenburg and built in 1888-1889. Unlike the Roman-Catholics, the Old-Catholics preferred other styles than Gothicism for their churches.

The Roman Catholic St. Vitus is a neo-Gothic church designed by P.J.H. Cuypers and built in 1891-1892. It is regarded as one of Cuypers' most important works. The interior must be very impressive and worth a look. If you find the doors open of course.

In 1928 W.M. Dudok was appointed municipal architect of Hilversum. Until then he had designed several buildings and objects for Hilversum in his function of director of Municipal Works. The town hall would become his masterpiece, and had been designed by him up to the smallest details, including the furniture and even a chairman's hammer. From 1915 until 1922 several designs were made, of which the final one was finished in 1924. Construction however didn't start until 1927, after several years of uncertainty over whether it would ever be build at all. Dudok finally was given the green light because fellow architects had been presuring the Hilversum city-counsil.

The town hall was built just outside the town centre, where it could be surrounded by a park. The building is made up out of box-like shapes, with a mostly vertical accent that is broken by several horizontal structures.

The building still has its original function, but a part of it houses the Dudok Centre, which has an exhibition of the man's work.

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Some more pictures ...

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Since december 2006 there is a new building on the Mediapark: Dutch Institute for Image and Sound, or in Dutch: het Nederlands Instituut voor Beeld en Geluid.