Keeping the Royal Schelde alive: 150 Years of Naval Excellence

The heart of naval shipbuilding still beats in Vlissingen. Museum Scheldewerf keeps this history alive across from Damen Naval’s historic head office. Husband and wife team Marian Koolwijk and Doeke Roos (pictured above), together with a group of volunteers, are preserving this legacy as they prepare to mark 150 years since the Royal Schelde Shipyard (Koninklijke Maatschappij De Schelde) was founded.

The museum stands in the historic Scheldekwartier neighbourhood, housed in what was once the company medical room of the Schelde. Later, the building served as a meeting place for trade unions and the works council, but they too eventually left the premises. “This building was just standing empty, ready for demolition,” says Marian Koolwijk. “We knew we had to do something to preserve it.”

The museum’s foundation, Stichting Scheepsbouwgeschiedenis Vlissingen, formed in 2009 to protect both the site and its collection. After a successful crowdfunding campaign, ownership passed fully to the foundation in 2022. “We see ourselves as caretakers,” Marian says. “The people here gave so much of their lives to this yard. They deserve to be remembered.”

The story of the Schelde goes back to 1875. In its early years, the yard built steam engines, naval vessels, and liners for the Rotterdamsche Lloyd. “It is really about the history of industrial progress”, says Doeke. “Steam, diesel, turbines, but also about the people who built them.”

Inside the museum, tools and machinery, detailed ship models, old blueprints, and artwork take visitors step by step through the entire process, from ship design to launch. The anniversary exhibition will trace the yard’s history from its earliest days to its role in present-day Vlissingen. Preparations begin in August and September, with the official opening on October 8, including a lecture that evening by Arjan van Gelder.

Much of the collection survived by chance. When the foundation first took over in 2021, the building was near ruin. Doeke, who also served on the board of Stadsherstel Vlissingen, credits local support for saving it. “It was luck, too,” he says. “The housing association wanted to invest in this area, and we could tell the story.”

Some of the oldest shipbuilding objects stand outside: a nineteenth-century steam engine and a two-blade shear once used for cutting steel plates by hand. Many artifacts belong to what the museum describes as the official A-collection, owned by Damen Naval but on loan to the museum. Over the years, donations from former workers and families have expanded the B-collection. “Someone’s grandfather passes away, and they find some treasures in the attic,” Marian says. “That is how the collection stays alive.”

Many of the volunteers are former employees who share personal memories of starting at the yard in the 1950s and 1960s, when the Schelde was a lively community. “Almost every volunteer here worked at the yard,” says Doeke. “They saw the strikes, the changes, the old way of building ships.”

One of the quirkiest artifacts is a small bag of paint chips from the renowned ocean liner Willem Ruys. The ship sank after a fire off the coast of Africa, when it was in Italian hands and known as the ‘Achille Lauro’. “We received that bag with a note attached,” says Doeke. “A Dutch tugboat was there, took people on board and sailed back to Rotterdam. There was still paint from the Willem Ruys on the bow, and that was scraped off.” “Small things like that matter,” Marian adds. “It shows how much people cared.”

Some memories are still visible in the architecture of Vlissingen. Many historic buildings tied to the shipyard survived because of local action. Others were lost. Doeke admits there is always tension between heritage and modern development. “You need people who see what is possible,” he says. “The big crane, de Zware Plaatwerkerij, de Timmerfabriek, de Machinefabriek: they are icons. But this museum keeps the stories alive.”

For Marian and Doeke, the museum is also a meeting point. “We want people to remember what was established here,” Marian says. “Not just ships, but a way of working together.”

With the 150th anniversary exhibition, they aim to connect the past with the future. “The exhibition is structured more or less chronologically,” says Doeke. “The last wall is dedicated to Damen Naval, featuring several ships that have been built over the past 25 years. This also gives us a look ahead into the future.”

Damen Naval employees can visit the exhibition free of charge by showing their personnel badge.

Museum Scheldewerf is open Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday from 13:00 to 17:00.
The official opening of the Anniversary Exhibit is on October 8, 2025.