Mata Hari Walk
August 7 marks the 150th anniversary (1876) of the birth of “Mata Hari,” Margaretha Geertruida Zelle, who was born on August 7 at the shop at Kelders 33. The dancer and spy was born above her parents’ hat and cap shop. Join us on a journey in the footsteps of Mata Hari through the Leeuwarden of her youth.
Almost everyone has heard of Mata Hari. This is the name of the exotic dancer who was executed by firing squad in France in 1917. This “femme fatale” was born Margaretha Geertruida Zelle in Leeuwarden in 1876. Her father, Adam Zelle, owned a hat and cap shop at Kelders 33. In 1905, she made her breakthrough under her stage name Mata Hari (eye of the sun) as an exotic dancer in Paris and Milan, among other places. During World War I, Mata Hari moved in officers’ circles in both Germany and France. In 1917, she was convicted of double espionage in France and executed by firing squad. Her exciting life, the alleged double espionage, and her tragic end captured the public’s imagination. Books, films, and TV series have been produced about her life, and the famous painter Isaac Israëls created a portrait of her.