About the museum

Make a journey of discovery through 2,000 years of collected wisdom inspired by the images and texts from the Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica collection.

There is plenty to discover when you visit the Embassy of the Free Mind. Whether you are a 'first-time-explorer' or already long-time part of our community. Whether you are a reading enthusiast, entrepreneur, child, reseacher or just museum-, café- or garden-visitor, there is something for everyone.
The cross-pollination between these different visitors often yields the best conversations & insights.

Who are we?
The Embassy of the Free Mind offers a journey of discovery through a little known but inspiring tradition of free thought dating back over two thousand years. The books and images in our museum collection were largely written and created by people who would not have the church or the authorities dictate to them what to think. They went in search of answers themselves, to such questions as: Where do we come from? How did everything come about? Why are we here? What does it mean to be human? They started from the idea that everything in the universe is connected.

Our collection contains books and images on Hermetic philosophy, alchemy, Rosicrucians, freemasonry, kabbalah, mysticism, magic, astrology, tarot, Sufism, Taoism, and more. Philosophers and freethinkers who have played a role in Amsterdam, such as Spinoza, Coornhert, Adriaan Koerbagh and Jan Amos Comenius, are also to be found on the shelves.
The Embassy of the Free Mind is located in the House with Heads on Amsterdam’s Keizersgracht, a historic mansion built in 1622.

What can you do at our museum?

Look and discover...
The Café and the Grote Sael is where you find images from our rare books collection. These images are rich in symbols and can tell you things about the connection between we humans and the world around us, about the alchemical process, about the origin of the world and the deeper meaning behind familiar phenomena. The symbolism is explained on the iPads in the two rooms. A free audio tour explains some important images to make you familiar with the world of thought of the makers.

The Kleine Sael is devoted to ‘The Grail of Amsterdam’, an outstanding work of art by the Russian lacquer miniaturist Oleg An, which illustrates grail legends.

…read and study...
Our library has a core collection of some 2,300 rare printed books and three hundred manuscripts from the 15th to the 18th century. These can be consulted on request, or viewed as part of a bespoke Rare Book Tour in the Rare Book Room.
The post-1900 collection is freely accessible in the Reading Room, where you will find a selection from the modern collection. If you are looking for a specific book and can’t find it on the shelf, you can ask the curators to look it up for you.
Spaces are provided here to read, work or study in peace and quiet.

...meet people and relax!
Our Café is an attractive place to meet people and enjoy a cup of coffee with fresh apple pie or our delicious home-made soup. There is also a shop featuring a selection from our web shop: our most popular books, posters, notebooks and postcards. Nice to have for yourself or to buy as an original gift for someone else.
You can also go out and find a spot in our garden, an oasis of peace in the heart of Amsterdam, with an almost 200-year-old chestnut tree and a wealth of flowers from spring to autumn.

Activities

Guided tours
There are general tours every day that introduce you to the library, the House with the Heads and the key elements in the thought of the thinkers we collect. We also offer special tours on the Grail, the House with the Heads and current exhibitions. Would you like to check out our museum on your own? Ask for a Discovery Tour at the reception desk. More about our guided tours.

Lectures, concerts, workshops and more
Every month we organize lectures and a lunch concert by students of the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. We also offer special workshops for children during the school holidays. See our programme of events here.

Enrich your mind!
In short, by visiting the Embassy of the Free Mind you will become acquainted with a lively spiritual tradition that is over two thousand years old. You will learn about insights that can prove a source of inspiration even today and can make you look at the world, and at yourself, with different eyes!