Airborne Museum Hartenstein: close to the Battle of Arnhem
In a former headquarters in Oosterbeek, personal stories, original objects and the Sosabowski exhibition guide visitors through September 1944.
Villa Hartenstein in Oosterbeek served as headquarters for British airborne forces during the Battle of Arnhem. Today it houses the Airborne Museum. The collection holds more than 15,000 objects: equipment and personal belongings of Allied and German soldiers, alongside material about civilians, evacuation and the ways the battle has been remembered.
The permanent exhibition follows the battle day by day, from the landings on Ginkel Heath to the withdrawal across the Rhine. Maps, eyewitness interviews and original objects include John Frost’s hunting horn, the divisional pennant and General Sosabowski’s Bronze Lion. Stories about civilians are also part of the presentation.
Until 3 January 2027, Sosabowski explores the different wartime paths of Stanisław Sosabowski and his son Stasinek. Their family story links Poland’s struggle for freedom with Arnhem. The underground Airborne Experience uses sets, images, loud sounds of battle and lighting to convey the fighting. The museum warns that the experience can be intense and may be distressing for people sensitive to sensory stimuli, people with epilepsy or those with PTSD-related symptoms.
Airborne Museum Hartenstein is at Utrechtseweg 232, 6862 AZ Oosterbeek. Its own visitor page lists daily opening from 10am to 5pm, except Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. This is the Oosterbeek site; Airborne at the Bridge is in Arnhem.