Wonder Walls

This fall, Museum Gouda will tell a unique and little-known story about the largest, most valuable, and most prestigious works of art from the 16th and 17th centuries: tapestries. Recent research shows that for nearly two centuries, Gouda was the center of tapestry art in the Northern Netherlands. These tapestries still adorn the walls of castles and palaces around the world. For example, in 2025, during their state visit to Sweden, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima stood in front of a series of life-size tapestries made in Gouda. Wonder Walls is the first major exhibition in the Netherlands dedicated to this rich art form. Through monumental loans from the Netherlands and abroad, Museum Gouda tells stories of migration, cultural exchange, the spirit of trade, and female entrepreneurship, as well as of status, luxury, and their flip sides.