The Rietveld Schröder House has been on the Unesco World Heritage List since 2000. What exactly does this mean and to what does the house owe this status?

UNESCO World Heritage Sites are unique

From the Great Wall of China and the Grand Canyon to the Wadden Sea and our very own Rietveld Schröder House. All over the world you will find buildings and (natural) areas that are so special and significant that they must be protected and preserved for future generations. At this point, there are around 1,200 locations on the World Heritage List.

Connecting through stories

Each location tells an inspiring story that touches people all over the world. By telling and passing on these stories, history remains alive and people worldwide learn to appreciate each other's culture and nature. In this way, it contributes to respect for each other.

25 years of World Heritage in 2025

The Rietveld Schröder House is a highlight of modern architecture according to the ideas of the De Stijl art movement. The 1924 residence has a unique design with horizontal and vertical surfaces and lines and use of primary colours. Furniture maker Gerrit Rietveld designed the house for and together with Truus Schröder as an exuberant experiment with a radical use of space. The Rietveld Schröder House is so unique that it gained UNESCO World Heritage status in 2000. 

Visit world heritage sites in the Netherlands

In total, the Netherlands has thirteen World Heritage Sites. These unique locations tell something about the story and position of the Netherlands and its inhabitants in the world in terms of water, society and design. These include: 

• Droogmakerij de Beemster
• Eise Eisinga Planetarium
• Grachtengordel van Amsterdam
• Hollandse Waterlinies
• Ir. D.F. Woudagemaal
• Koloniën van Weldadigheid
• Molencomplex
• Kinderdijk-Elshout
• Neder-Germaanse Limes
• Rietveld Schröderhuis
• Schokland en omgeving
• Van Nellefabriek,
• De Waddenzee
• Willemstad, Curaçao

Management plan Rietveld Schröder House 2024-2034

In 2024, the house will be 100 years old. A century after the house was built, people still walk past it curiously every day, visit it, or are photographing its exterior. The Rietveld Schröder House is still a landmark, and rightly so. Centraal Museum has been fortunate to manage the house since 1987, which has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000.

This management plan describes what is known as Outstanding Universal Values - cultural and/or natural values so exceptional that they transcend national boundaries and are of common interest to present and future generations of all humanity. In 1972, the guidelines for World Heritage were laid down by UNESCO in the ‘Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage’. In 1992, the Netherlands ratified this convention and committed itself to preserving the World Heritage on Dutch territory. Part of this is that a management plan is required for each site.

The present document describes the approach for the years ahead and spans a period of 10 years (2024-2034).

About UNESCO 

Only UNESCO can grant world heritage status. However, the organisation does much more in addition to heritage protection. UNESCO is also the education and science organisation of the United Nations. Through international cooperation in education, science and culture, UNESCO is committed to increasing respect for each other and contributing to peace in the world.