While half the crew visited a train museum in Utrecht, Fran, Daniel and I decided to have breakfast locally and meet them in Utrecht for our 2pm "timed-visit" to Kasteel De Haar.
However, plans changed when we discovered our drivers side mirror had been forcefully pulled out of place and we were unable to push it back.
A visit to a nearby Audi dealer resulted in the service manager returning it to the correct placement and we were on our way to Utrecht.
Kastel de Haar:
The oldest historical record of a building at the location of the current castle dates to 1391. The castle remained in the ownership of the De Haar family until 1440, when the last male heir died childless. The castle then passed to the Van Zuylen family.
In 1482, the castle was burned down and the walls were destroyed, except for the parts that did not have a military function. These parts probably were incorporated into the castle when it was rebuilt during the early 16th century. After 1641, when Johan van Zuylen van de Haar died childless, the castle seems to have gradually fallen into ruins. The castle escaped total destruction by the French during the Rampjaar 1672.
In 1887, Jean-Jacques' grandson, Etienne Gustave Frédéric Baron van Zuylen van Nyevelt van de Haar (1860–1934), married Baroness Hélène de Rothschild, of the Rothschild family. When Etienne inherited the ruined castle in 1890 from his grandfather, the couple set about rebuilding the castle, fully financed by Hélène's family.
This project took 20 years (from 1892 to 1912). The castle has 200 rooms and 30 bathrooms, of which only a small number on the ground and first floor have been opened to be viewed by the public.
In 2000, the family Van Zuylen van Nyevelt passed ownership of the castle and the gardens (45 ha) to the foundation Kasteel de Haar. However, the family retained the right to spend one month per year in the castle. An extensive restoration programme of the castle and the gardens was initiated in 2001 and was completed in 2011.[3]
After the death in 2011 of the last male heir, Thierry van Zuylen, his five daughters also sold the castle's art collection and furnishings to the new owners.
A great couple of days !! Can't believe the stonework and the stained glass.. What a beautiful trip so far !! Thanks for sharing and feel like we are there with you ! You are capturing it all !! Has anyone tried the herring yet ?! I had to ask. I had a Heineken yesterday on the front porch!!
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