Marie van Reenen-Völter (1850-1925) played a key role in Bergen’s development as an artists’ village. In 1903, she founded Museum Het Sterkenhuis, making her the first female museum director in the Netherlands—fifteen years earlier than Ida Peelen, who had previously held that title. Her pioneering role is now once again in the spotlight in a book by writer and journalist Rene van der Heijden: The Tsarina of Bergen. Museum Kranenburgh is now located in Van Reenen-Völter’s former home.
