MuseumsThere are several museums in Haarlem. The Teylers Museum lies on the Spaarne river and is the oldest museum of the Netherlands. Its main subjects are art, science and natural history, and it owns a number of works by Michelangelo and Rembrandt. Another museum is the Frans Hals Museum of fine arts, with its main location housing Dutch master paintings, and its exhibition halls on the Grote Markthousing a gallery for modern art called De Hallen. Also on the Grote Markt, in the cellar of the Vleeshal is the Archeologisch Museum Haarlem, while across the square on Saturdays, the Hoofdwacht building is open with exhibitions on Haarlem history.
Other museums are Het Dolhuys (a museum of psychiatry), the Ten Boom Museum (a hiding place for Jews in World War II) and theHistorisch Museum Haarlem, across from the Frans Hals Museum.
Theater, film and cultural centers
The city contains several theatres, cinemas and other cultural attractions (apart from the museums). The Philharmonie is a concert hall in the centre of the city near the Grote Markt. Next to it is the Toneelschuur theatre, which also has some movie theatres (often referred to as the Filmschuur). The Stadsschouwburg on the Wilsonsplein reopened in 2008 after a major renovation and can seat 698.
There used to be two more cinemas in Haarlem, but both of them closed recently. Cinema Palace was established in 1915 and was one of the oldest cinemas in the Netherlands. It closed definitively on 15 January 2011. The other was the Brinkmann cinema, located on the Grote Markt, which closed on 1 February 2012. Nowadays, the only other cinema in Haarlem is Pathé Haarlem, located in the newly-built Raaks shopping mall. This new cinema opened on 5 July 2011.
The Patronaat is a pop music hall, one of the largest in the Netherlands of its kind. It is a popular night spot among many of the city's residents and others.
