Museum The Spinoza house

Het Spinozahuis
Spinozalaan 29
2231 SG RIJNSBURG

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The Spinozahuis, where the world-renowned philosopher Benedictus de Spinoza (1632-1677) lived for some years, is open to the public. Spinoza wrote a number of his works in this house, which has been a museum since 1899.

In Rijnsburg he completed his introduction to the philosophy of Descartes and also began working on his chief philosophical work, the ‘Ethica’. The library Spinoza left has largely been reconstructed from an inventory drawn up after his death in 1677. The books, often in contemporary vellum and leather bindings, represent a collection unique in the world. Portraits, letters and documents on and by Spinoza have also been preserved. Albert Einstein wrote his name in the guestbook when he visited the Spinozahuis in 1920. The lathe in one of the rooms in the museum is a reproduction of a workbench such as Spinoza would have used for grinding lenses.