De Haar Castle

Having a castle built is one thing. Moving an entire village because it stands in the way is another.

In 1890 Baron Etienne van Zuylen van Nijevelt inherited a ruin. His wife, Hélène de Rothschild, had the fortune to do something with it. They handed the commission to Pierre Cuypers, architect of the Rijksmuseum, who started in 1892. The work was meant to take three years. It took twenty.

The village of Haarzuilens had to go, to make room for the park and its sightlines. It was rebuilt two kilometres away in the style of the castle, designed by Cuypers' son Jos. Only the derelict church stayed where it was, and it now serves as the castle chapel. Thousands of fully grown trees were hauled in from the Utrechtse Heuvelrug so the park would look old from the start.

Inside came some two hundred rooms, thirty bathrooms, a passenger lift, central heating and running hot water. Cuypers wanted ornament everywhere. The baroness had her own bedrooms done in white and ordered standard furniture for them, to the architect's dismay.

The family no longer owns the castle. September is still reserved for them.

Back in the city? Our walking routes through Utrecht show you places you would otherwise walk straight past.