Volendams Museums: Cigar Band House
Volendams House was created by Nicolaas Molenaar in the attic of a house in Volendam, Netherlands. As a hobby, Molenaar collected different cigar bands, and later, he wanted to make decorations with these bands. The room was created by adding different medallions of cigar bands to a panel, forming a unique mosaic-like environment. After a while, the collection became famous in the village and people wanted to visit it. In the 1950s the site became known as the Cigar Band House.
The room contains numerous replicas of historical buildings such as St. Peter’s Basilica, the Tower of Pisa, and Big Ben. Molenaar also depicted Dutch buildings like windmills, the Water Tower in Sneek, and the Basilica of St. Servatius in Maastricht. After Molenaar’s death, the entire collection was taken over by his neighbor. In 1993, the Volendams Museum bought the collection.
Escadario Selarón
Locally known as the ”Lapa Steps”, Escadario Selarón is a set of world-famous steps in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The stairs are the work of Chilean artist Jorge Selarón, as his tribute to Brazilian people.
The steps are covered with over 2000 mosaic tiles collected from over 60 countries around the world. Selarón keeps making new changes so the stairs are ever-evolving and never complete.
