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In 1851 the Association of the Royal Yacht Club, which was chaired by Prince Hendrik, took possession of the elegant mansion on the Willemskade. In 1873 the Prince Hendrik Maritime Museum was established. After the prince's death, the building was turned over to the municipality, which decided in 1883 also to establish an ethnographic museum, much as Leiden and Haarlem had done. On 1 May 1885, the Museum voor Land- en Volkenkunde (Museum for Geography and Ethnology)—now known as the Wereldmuseum—opened its doors.