Torture Museum

The Torture Museum in Amsterdam sits right near the Flower Market on the Singel and displays historical instruments of torture in cramped, dimly lit rooms. You'll see a mix of genuine antique objects, such as the guillotine, the rack, and the stocks, alongside modern replicas of devices like the Iron Maiden, the head crusher, and the shrew's fiddle. Each exhibit is explained with enlarged illustrations and descriptions in English, Dutch, French, German, Italian, and Spanish that cover the historical context and how the device was used. Although many of the devices on display, especially those from the Middle Ages, were literary inventions or rare isolated cases, this small museum ranks among the world's most unusual attractions and is very popular with tourists.