July 13 & 14 Rembrandt days

© Dirk van Egmond

On Saturday, July 13th and Sunday, July 14th, the entire Pieters and Academy districts will be transformed into the most authentic possible seventeenth-century atmosphere, complete with several hundred actors and extras, historical materials, and other props from that time. In short, a Grand Historical Theater will be performed.

Even on the way there, visitors will be immersed in the right atmosphere. At the site of Rembrandt’s birthplace, along the route through his old neighborhood, and over the Rapenburg, visitors will encounter surprising events, ultimately leading them to the Pieters district.

For this event, more than four hundred people have been willing to organize themselves into groups that sew clothing, build sets, historical materials, and props, and actors and extras who write, direct, and rehearse theater and plays. They are all volunteers, Leiden volunteers to be precise, as they passionately honor their famous fellow townsman with the Leiden Rembrandt Days, now an annual tribute.