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Welcome to the Hembrug Museum

Over a century ago, this site was home to the ‘Hembrug’ ammunitions and arms factory. The complex was sealed off from the outside world by a tall fence and shrouded in mystery – a blind spot on the map. What went on at this no-go place? What was made here? For whom? Who worked here? And why was the national arms factory built here in the first place?

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The products

What is actually made in the Hembrug ammunitions and arms factory? Arms and munitions, of course! But that’s not all. In peace time there is less demand for equipment for the military, so the factory switches to making civilian products, such as agricultural vehicles, manhole covers, and optical instruments.

From the outset, the factory develops machines for its own and, later on, commercial use, such as the famous Hembrug lathe. Fireproof tools and precision apparatus – needed to make arms and munitions – are also designed and produced in-house.