As the oldest municipal museum of the Netherlands, the Centraal Museum demonstrates that for centuries Utrecht has been a breeding ground for artistic and cultural talent - both on a national and international scale. The Centraal Museum is home to the largest collection of Rietveld designs in the world, and also exhibits work by the world-famous artist Dick Bruna. Another collection definitely worth seeing is the old masters collection with pieces by Jan van Scorel, Abraham Bloemaert and Hendrick ter Brugghen. Besides works by these iconic figures from Utrecht, the Centraal Museum provides a historical overview of the past 2000 turbulent years, as well as focusing on contemporary collections of fashion, design and fine arts.
For the most part, the museum is housed in a former medieval cloister. Other parts of the building used to serve as an orphanage, military stables and psychiatric hospital. The museum was renovated by architects Stéphane Beel, Lieven Achtergael and Peter Versseput in 1999. The museum consists of several buildings with a courtyard lying at their centre.
