Stef Bos | Bloemlezing

De Nobelaer is the cultural centre of Etten Leur in North Brabant, and it combines several functions under one roof: a library, art education, a mid sized theatre, a pop stage and a programme of events. The venue was long known as Nieuwe Nobelaer, a name it dropped once the move into its current building was settled. The Nobelaer name itself goes back to the De Nobelaer family, who founded the Paulushof in Etten Leur. The original centre dates from the late 1950s. A ceremonial first spade went into the ground on 27 December 1957, and the complex on the Vincent van Goghplein was built in 1958 to a design by architect B.J. Koldewey and his son H.M. Koldewey. It held a library with reading room, a theatre that doubled as a cinema hall, and space for exhibitions. State Secretary R.G.A. Höppener opened it on 15 November 1958. By 2014 the municipality concluded that the 1958 building could no longer be preserved, and it formally decided on a replacement. Construction of the new building on the Parklaan started on 19 June 2020, and former alderman Jan van Hal laid the first stone on 13 April 2021. The keys were handed over on 24 December 2021. The library moved in March 2022 in a symbolic way, with 1,000 primary school pupils passing books along in a chain. The public got a first look inside during the Spijkerbroeken opening weekend from 1 to 3 April 2022, and the official opening followed on 10 September 2022. The new building was designed by TenBrasWestinga. For concertgoers, the Rabobank Theaterzaal is the main hall, backed by the pop stage, so the centre can host both seated theatre evenings and more informal live music.