Leiden is celebrating - 450 years of parades

This makes parades a mirror of society. With the exhibition Leiden celebrates – 450 years of parades, Museum De Lakenhal, together with the city and the university, celebrates the rich tradition that Leiden has in this area – a tradition that is still very much alive. We also look ahead to the future.

Leiden as a parade city: Nowhere else in our country has the history of the Netherlands been celebrated as exuberantly for so long as in Leiden. Parades have been organized in the city ever since Leiden's Relief on October 3, 1574 and the founding of the university on February 8, 1575. With the exhibition Leiden is celebrating – 450 years of parades, we look back on this rich history.

From shooting parades to folk festival: In the exhibition you will discover the developments that these parades have undergone in Leiden over the centuries: from the military and theatrical parades by shooters and rhetoricians in the early modern period and the student masquerades in the nineteenth century to the tattoo today. We also look ahead: what will the parade of the future look like?

Walking through four and a half centuries of history: The exhibition brings together striking objects and images of parades from all times. With paintings, several meters of prints, photos, films, costumes and attributes, we show how grand these celebrations were and are. Visitors can walk through four and a half centuries of Leiden parade history.

Collaboration partners: Leiden University | October 3 Association | Heritage Leiden and Surroundings | Theater Institute Netherlands.