Museum De Bastei
The building and its collection
The 16th century Stratemakerstoren is the heart of the museum. The archeological finds discovered during the last renovation are on display, including wall fragments from the Roman era and medieval times. De Bastei boasts a collection of well over 100,000 objects, which was built on several collections of taxidermy (birds and mammals), as well as insects, rocks, minerals and fossils.
The river’s treasury
The permanent exhibition Oergrond (‘Prehistoric Soil’) in the basement explains how the moraine landscape came into being. What animals lived here in the ice age? What are erratic rocks? One floor up, you will find the River Treasury, which is set up to display various biotopes of the riparian landscape. The temporary exhibitions are another floor up, topped by a third-floor restaurant offering a fantastic view of the river, the Waal Bridge, and the nature reserve.
Starting point for nature excursions
The museum shop offers a range of hiking and cycling routes so you can walk out of the museum and into the Gelderse Poort nature reserve. There are lots of activities for children, such as an exhibition quest and interactive sand box to experiment with. Outdoors, the museum organizes explorations of the natural landscape.
