Museum Janning - Nieuw-Schoonebeek

Museum Janning is located in the former Roman Catholic rectory in Nieuw-Schoonebeek. This museum displays a unique collection of religious art, paintings and regional historical material.

The name and soul of the museum are closely linked to Johannes Hendrikus (Hein) Janning (1914–1980): born in Nieuw-Schoonebeek, he studied to become a priest, was ordained in 1940, and worked as a pastor in places including Workum.

Besides his religious role, he was especially known as a painter and collector of religious art: he earned money with his paintings and built up an extensive collection. In 1983, his legacy was placed in a foundation, and in 1985 the museum for religious art opened in Workum. In July 2020, the museum moved to his birthplace Nieuw-Schoonebeek, where the collection is now on display.

The museum shows paintings by Hein Janning, often with religious or nature themes. The religious art collection includes gold and silver pieces, relics, stained glass windows, wood carvings, and even a panelled wall over 2 metres high and 18 metres long from a former East German church. There’s also a historical photo collection by teacher Ben Schreur (1887–1957), who spent around forty years capturing life in and around Nieuw-Schoonebeek on glass plates. For a different experience, there’s the ‘Da Vinci’ escape room, where visitors solve puzzles and search for the ‘Holy Grail’.