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The Torture Museum

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gsingh
gsingh
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5 out of 5
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Torture Museum, then lunch!

  • February 27, 2004
  • Rated 5 of 5 by LolaSF from San Francisco, California
Torture Museum, then lunch!

One rainy afternoon, I made my way over to the Torture Museum. It’s right behind the main shopping street on DAMRAK. It’s hard to find, but totally worth it, if you’re a sick gal like me. It's now on Singel, near the flower market. It's cheap (7.50), but doesn't accept museum cards. It’s small and dank, containing your everyday racks, beds of nails, and iron maidens. It’s very tongue-and-cheek, but to a point. After a bit, it’s very disturbing and as you leave, you pass the mother of them all: the guillotine. They have placed a chair for you to pass out on if you wish. When I go back, I’ll do it again. Note: they have moved it to this new address, so if you’re traveling with an old book, make sure you got the right address.

Address: Torture Museum: Damrak 20.

Directions: It's hard to find, but just look for it. Make a left at the flag store and it's halfway down the block.

Phone: (020) 639 2027

From journal A stoner chick's guide to Amsterdam

Editor Pick

The Torture Museum

  • July 9, 2000
  • Rated 4 of 5 by gsingh from San Jose, California
The Torture Museum

The Torture Museum sits at no. 20-22 on Damrak, Amsterdam's main drag, a short walk from the Central Station. An old black building squeezed amongst several trinket shops and the Sex Museum a few doors down, this rickety house of torture devices draws an intriguing selection of visitors.

I don't remember the actual price of admission, but it was comparable to any other museum. It wasn't expensive, maybe six or seven American dollars. You enter through a long skinny dark hallway and eventually reach the cashier's booth, where a mysterious African gentleman takes your guilders and points you towards the entrance to the 'museum.'

You then embark on a long, twisting path through many rooms on two stories, each room showcasing a different type of torture device. (At this particular time they had an international exhibition of authentic torture instruments from all over Europe). Many of the rooms had medieval style drawings displaying the implementation of the various devices. This is not a place for those with weak stomachs. Some pretty vivid imagery exists here. There are limbs getting torn and stripped by 'The Rack,' or thumbs about ready to be crushed. The women accompanying us hated the place. Maybe it's a guy thing, I don't know, but I loved it. Ryan and I were laughing hysterically the whole time.

I enjoyed the place so much I had to buy a poster. In order to do so, I was directed by the cashier to look for some mysterious character named Izmir upstairs in the office. He was the chap who held the posters. They were seven American dollars each, quite a bargain for a huge poster.

From journal Frozen Nightmares in Amsterdam.

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