Huis Honselaarsdijk

Huis Honselaarsdijk is a former palace and country residence of the Dutch Stadtholders and princes of Orange which lies about 2.6 km (2 mi) southwest of the border of The Hague, Netherlands. It was one of the finest examples of Baroque architecture in The Netherlands. Today, only part of the outbuildings remain and are known locally as De Nederhof.

The village of Honselersdijk already had a small castle in the Middle Ages. In the 16th century it belonged to the House of Arenberg, but they were on the Spanish side in the Eighty Years' War, and it was expropriated by the States of Holland and West Friesland and put at the disposal of Prince Maurice of Orange. His younger brother, Prince Frederick Henry bought the castle in 1612 to use it as hunting lodge and summer mansion. It became his primary country house and showplace of his power. The medieval castle was torn down and was replaced between 1621 and 1647 by a new moated house and gardens inspired by the French architecture of the Luxembourg Palace, but with distinct Dutch features.

After the death of his father, Prince William II completed the building of the house, although only a few of the planned extensions, such as galleries and pavilions, were created.

Under William III and Mary the gardens were renovated and the house was adapted to the needs of its time (e.g. introduction of the sash window). The house was a rallying point for the various crossings to England or entrances to the city of The Hague.

After the death of king-stadtholder William III, the house was claimed by his cousin, King Frederick I in Prussia, just as various other country houses and palaces. The Prussian king and his family mostly lived in Berlin and because of an ongoing dispute about the inheritance with the King-Stadtholder's sole heirs in the Frisian Nassau branch, little or no maintenance was taken up and the house fell into disrepair. Due to negotiations between Frederick the Great and Anne, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange, the house was sold to her son Prince William V in 1754. There were plans for renovation, but considered too expensive. William V occasionally used the house only for hunting purposes. The last real residents were his sister Princess Carolina and her husband Karl Christian, Prince of Nassau-Weilburg between 1760 and 1765.

Text adapted from “Huis Honselaarsdijk” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Huis Honselaarsdijk ranks #5,080 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #62 of the 200 mapped in Netherlands. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 1,326 times in the last 60 days, more than 56% of the atlas. 13 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is The Hague, 10 km away. See how Netherlands compares in the castle statistics.

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