Behind the façade of the governor’s palace in Den Bosch
At Het Noordbrabants Museum, old walls and an estate inventory reveal how a city palace changed. Recent maintenance is another part of the building’s story.
The classical façade on Verwersstraat belongs to a building with an older core. Anton Günther von Holstein, governor of Brabant from 1733 to 1744, lived in the city palace. After his death, architect Pieter de Swart designed a new front for it in 1768. Today the main building forms part of Het Noordbrabants Museum.
Restoration work uncovered internal walls older than the 1768 refurbishment. Former museum director Charles de Mooij compared old floor plans with the inventory of Von Holstein’s estate. Its room-by-room list of possessions enabled him to identify spaces. According to the museum, the layout between today’s front and rear façades remains largely as it was in 1744.
The salons were gathering rooms even then, and one served as a dining room. The State Chamber has a different past: it was once the chapel of a Jesuit monastery. The Provincial Council later met there for two centuries. Stained glass, chandeliers, wood panelling and ceiling still express its layered use. The photograph from 1914 shows an earlier arrangement, rather than the room as it stands today.
Behind the scenes, the building needs continuing care. In its 2024 annual report, the museum describes a ten-week restoration of the palace’s garden façade: dry-ice cleaning, repairs to cracks and loose plaster, followed by plastering and painting. Secondary glazing was installed in the State Chamber. These measures help preserve the historic building while it remains in museum use.
The 2013 renovation also equipped the State Chamber to function as an auditorium. Kiki van Eijk designed royal-blue fabric wallpaper woven at Tilburg’s TextielLab. The palace is a working building, not a frozen stage set. The visitor page lists opening hours at Verwersstraat 41 as 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday to Sunday; it is closed on Mondays. The museum currently notes an exhibition changeover with fewer galleries open, so confirm access before visiting.