What to See in Nijmegen - Top Sights and Attractions

Futuristic classical and modern art museum. The Valkhof Museum is an archaeology and art museum in Nijmegen, Netherlands.

The museum has existed since 1999, created as a merger between the G. M. Kam museum of archaeology and the Commanderie van St. Jan museum of classical and modern art. The museum's collection includes a large and important collection of local Roman archaeological finds and art (mostly modern).

The museum stands on the edge of the Valkhof park, site of a Roman army camp and a citadel built by Charlemagne. The museum's building was designed by Dutch architect Ben van Berkel and was opened on 14 September 1999 by Queen Beatrix.

In November 2008, the official name of the museum was changed to Valkhof-Kam. This reflected an agreement reached with the heirs of G. M. Kam.^[1]

The Quack monument or Marie-Adolffontein is a monument in Nijmegen, in the Dutch province of Gelderland.

The Quack monument was originally founded in 1926 from a legacy of Arnoldus Burchard Adolphus Quack (Nijmegen, 6 April 1842 - Nijmegen, 11 November 1920). Quack was alderman of the municipality of Nijmegen from 1902 to 1919. The monument is named after him and his twin sister Maria (Marie) Christina (Nijmegen, April 6, 1842 - Nijmegen, March 15, 1905). Quack left his legacy to the municipality of Nijmegen under the condition that a fountain, the Marie Adolphron named after his sister, would be erected.

Architect Willem Bijlard designed the monument that contains four fountains and four bells at the base and four lanterns at the top. The lower part is made of granito. The obelisk is made of red granite with carved art-deco ornaments. The lanterns and bells are made of bronze. The ornamental surfaces under the bells were made by stonemason Litjes. 75 m3 of granite and 30 m3 of concrete have been processed.

It was demolished in 1958 because it had to give way to traffic. Several parts, such as the glass parts and the bells were destroyed by, among other things, the bombing of Nijmegen in 1944. The different parts were stored for years. In 1976 there was mention of the monument to be erected in the new Dukenburg district. Eventually the monument was rebuilt in 2000 in the same place where it stood until 1958.

The monument is often compared to a phallus. On World AIDS Day 2004 a huge 'condom' was drawn over the monument.^[7]

Museum in the Netherlands. The Stratemakerstoren is an early 16th-century bastion on the Waalkade in the Dutch town Nijmegen. It is a rijksmonument and since 1995, it housed a museum. This was closed in April 2015, for major reconstruction.

The Stratemakerstoren is located on the edge of the river Waal, at the foot of the Valkhof at Nijmegen. This bastion was a part of the fortifications of Nijmegen, built in or before 1526. The current name, which means "Road Workers Tower", was already in use in 1569 - the reason for this name is still not exactly known.

The Stratemakerstoren was constructed to protect the adjacent gate, the Veerpoort. The tower often figures on old paintings and prints, where it is seen on the riverbank, at the foot of the Valkhof castle, for example in the painting called the Valkhof at Nijmegen.

Due to technical innovations in warfare, by the end of the 18th century, the round bastion had lost its importance as a defensive stronghold. A rise in the water level of the river Waal also meant that the tower was partly submerged. In 1789, a local carpenter, J. ten Boven, was given permission to build houses on the site of the bastion. He didn't demolish the tower completely, but just built the houses on top of the bastion. In 1987 these houses were demolished, and to almost every one's surprise the tower re-emerged.

From 1995 until 2015, the building was hidden behind a grey wall, and housed a museum. In April 2015, the museum was closed for major reconstruction and restoration of the building. Plan is to re-open in 2016 as De Bastei, a centre for nature and cultural history.^[9]