Airborne Museum Hartenstein

Airborne Museum Hartenstein is located in the city of Oosterbeek, The Netherlands. This former hotel served as the headquarters of the British 1st Airborne Division during the Battle of Arnhem in September 1944.

The present building was build in 1865 and had different owners, before turning into a hotel in 1942. Soon after, in 1944, Hotel Hartenstein saw it’s share of action.

After the Allied landings in Normandy in June 1944, Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery planned Operation Market Garden, in which Allied forces should occupy several bridges in The Netherlands. The Allies could then avoid the heavily fortified Siegfried Line in Germany. The bridge at the city of Arnhem should be the last bridge to be captured.

On September 17th 1944, 10.000 British and Polish men landed on the west and south side of Arnhem. Major General Roy Urquhart chose Hotel Hartenstein as his headquarters. Unfortunately, Operation Market Garden didn’t go as planned. Drop zones and landing zones were too far away from their objective, and the number of German forces was underestimated. Only 700 men reached their objective: The bridge over the Rhine river in the city of Arnhem. But soon, they were cut off from the rest of the Allied forces. They held the bridge for four days, before finally surrender to the Germans. It went down in history as ‘a bridge too far’.

The rest of the Allied forces had to retreat to the city of Oosterbeek. They set up a perimeter, with Hotel Hartenstein in the middle of it. After nine days of fighting, it became clear that Operation Market Garden had failed. The Allied forces had to withdraw to the south side of the Rhine river; Only 2.000 of the 10.000 men managed to reach the south end. Hotel Hartenstein was left behind, heavily damaged by artillery and mortar fire.

After the war, the hotel was renovated and used as a hotel again. During the 70’s, a new building for the Airborne Museum (est. in 1949 in Doorwerth Castle) was needed. Because of it’s history, Hotel Hartenstein was perfect for it. In May 1978, Major General Roy Urquhart himself opened the new museum in his former headquarters. The museum now has a significant collection of original weapons and equipment used in the battle of Arnhem.