Batavia Yard is a shipyard with extraordinary ambitions, reconstructing ships from the Golden Age that were important to the Netherlands’ maritime history. This heritage was demolished at the time because of its limited lifespan, or has sunk to the bottom of the sea. In April 1995, the Batavia, which is the most authentic reconstruction of a 17th-century VOC ship ever made, was launched after ten years in the making. The initiator was master shipbuilder Willem Vos.

After this reconstruction was complete, a second project was started in the yard to reconstruct ‘De 7 Provinciën’, a 17th-century battleship with which Michiel de Ruyter fought many sea battles.

The construction of the replica of ‘De 7 Provinciën’ is one of the largest and most challenging historical shipbuilding projects in the world. Using vocational reintegration and work experience projects to construct these ships, the shipyard plays an important part in the lives of long-term unemployed people for whom, over time and for various reasons, the distance to the job market has become too great.

Having official ‘Charity Organisation’ status, Batavia Yard is a non-profit foundation that is dependent on donations and sponsors to construct and maintain the ships.