Nostalgiascapes and Images of the Netherlands On Tourism, Intangible Heritage and Nostalgia

Nostalgiascapes are specific places where a coherent and positive 'story' about the past is told. This article discusses the Dutch Ellert and Brammert Open-air Museum in the province of Drenthe and the Dutch 'De Bruine Kroeg' pub as nostalgiascapes where an attachment (endearment or 'vertedering') for 'Dutchness' is created. Dutchness is also represented in several places in other countries, such as Germany, the United States, Japan and China, where a stereotypical version of the Netherlands is displayed. This article discusses three forms of 'vertedering'. Firstly, the article addresses the Western Netherlands' (Randstad) inhabitants' paternalistic view of the 'backward' rural rest of the country (of which Drenthe is supposedly a prototype). Secondly, the article addresses the place of the Dutch positive self-congratulatory view of their national tradition of Dutch 'gezelligheid' (coziness) in pubs and homes. Finally, the article examines the partly paternalistic view of Dutch old-fashioned quaintness displayed in some foreign countries based on stereotypes of Dutchness (wooden shoes, tulips, mills).