The institution is named after Frederik of the Netherlands , the brother of King William II of the Netherlands . Both were Freemasons. Prince Frederik was from 1816 to 1881 Grand Master of the Order of Freemasons under the Grand East of the Netherlands, and donated the order in 1866, the Bibliotheca Klossiana.
Bibliotheca Klossiana consists of the famous Kloss collection with its many extremely rare or unique titles. Here you can trace much of the history of masonic rituals, especially in the fabulous manuscript collection.
Many of the subjects related to freemasonry can be found here: the unresolved 'prehistory' and the origins of the Craft, the alleged connections with cathedral builders, Rosicrucians or Knights Templar, alchemy, antique mysteries.
During the German occupation of the Netherlands also followed the seizure of the assets of the Grand Orient of the Netherlands. During the war, many of the collected objects disappeared.
On July 3, 1934 at half past two in the afternoon, Prince Hendrik van Mecklenburg-Schwerin (the husband of Queen Wilhelmina) died at the age of 58 in this office of a heart attack.
