The Huygens Institute

The Huygens Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) is the national research institute for the history and culture of the Netherlands. We unlock historical and literary sources using modern digital methods. In doing so, we consider the Netherlands within a broad international context, examining how history and culture have developed in interaction with other countries, cultures, and nature.

Thanks to our digital access to sources and archives, an increasing amount of historical material is becoming available. This also brings new and previously unheard voices to light, contributing to a richer and more diverse picture of the past. At the same time, our modern software and sustainable digital infrastructure ensure that this heritage remains safe, accessible, and usable for future generations.

Research and Collaboration

We collaborate with researchers and institutions in The Netherlands and abroad. By sharing knowledge and sources, we create new insights into Dutch history and culture.

Our research methods make use of artificial intelligence (AI), including:

• Handwritten Text Recognition (HTR) for digitising handwritten documents
• Computational text analysis and comparison

In addition, we develop standards for linked open data so that historical data can be easily shared and reused. Experts from the humanities, social sciences, computational linguistics, and computer science work closely together on this project. This enables the Huygens Institute to be a leading knowledge centre for national and international researchers.

The institute consists of five main research groups:

• Political Culture and History
• LivesLab (Life courses)
• Computational Literary Studies
• Knowledge and Art Practices
• Digital Editions

Special and Interdisciplinary Research Groups

In addition, there are two special research groups that support interdisciplinary and experimental research by KNAW institute researchers from various disciplines.

• DHLab
• NL-Lab

Recurring themes common to all groups:

• Knowledge networks
• Biographical data
• Literary and art practices
• Edition science
• Nature and climate

Digital Access and Data Management

The Data Management Department plays a central role in managing and providing access to sources. The department:

• Supports data-intensive research projects
• Manages datasets and online sources
• Ensures the interoperability and usability of data and digital tools
• Works with partners to develop tools for analysing historical and cultural data

Important collections include:

• Resolutions of the States General
• Parts of the VOC archive
• Correspondence from Johan de Witt, the wives of the stadtholders and artists such as Piet Mondrian and Vincent van Gogh.

Many of these collections are available online, providing researchers and the public with access to these sources.

Digital Infrastructure and CLARIAH

The institute plays a key role in CLARIAH, a sustainable research infrastructure for the humanities and social sciences.
Alongside the Meertens Institute and the International Institute of Social History, the Huygens Institute established the KNAW Humanities Cluster in 2016. Within this cluster, the KNAW’s Digital Infrastructure department collaborates closely on the management of digital sources and tools.

History

The history of the Huygens Institute begins in 1902, when the Dutch government set up the Rijks Geschiedkundige Publicatiën (RGP) to publish significant historical documents. From 1910 onwards, the committee was given its own office, which later evolved into the Institute for Dutch History (ING) within NWO.

In 1992, various existing text edition projects and committees merged to form the Constantijn Huygens Institute, which focused on text editions and intellectual history. In 2005, the Dutch Studies department of the now-defunct Netherlands Institute for Scientific Information Services (NIWI) joined the institute, which then took the name Huygens Institute.

In 2011, it merged with the ING to form Huygens ING, based in The Hague. Since 2016, it has been housed in the Spinhuis in Amsterdam. From 2022, it will once again bears the official name Huygens Institute for Dutch History and Culture.

Scientific Committee

The Scientific Committee advises the management of the Huygens Institute and the KNAW on scientific direction and strategy. The committee members are:

• Prof. Mike Kestemont (chair), University of Antwerp
• Prof. Nadine Akkerman, Leiden University
• Prof. Jan Kok, Radboud University
• Prof. Ann-Sophie Lehman, University of Groningen
• Dr Nelleke Moser, Vrije University Amsterdam
• Dr Thorsten Ries, Ghent University