Thursday 3 March 2011

Kasteel De Haar

I want to invite you to celebrate Presepio's 3rd anniversary with a visit to the largest and most beautiful Castle in the Netherlands...

Kasteel De Haar

Enjoy and celebrate with us!

In a cold but sunny February day, we visited the Castle De Haar, near Haarzuilens, in Utrecht province.

From De Haar


We drank a cup of tea at Tuynhuis De Haar and went for a walk in the Castle's beautiful gardens...

From De Haar


From De Haar


We tried to photograph the deers in the park...

From De Haar


...before our Dutch guided tour would begin ;-)

From De Haar


We couldn't take photos of the rooms, only of the Castle and its gardens.

The current buildings, except for the chapel, date from 1892 and are the work of Dutch architect P.J.H. Cuypers, most frequently associated with the Amsterdam Central Station (1881–1889) and the Rijksmuseum (1876–1885).

From De Haar


This famous Dutch architect was hired in 1892 by Etienne van Zuylen van Nijevelt, who inherited the castle in 1887. The Baron was married with Hélène de Rothschild, of the wealthy Rothschild family.

From De Haar


The restoration of the castle took 20 years. Only in 1912, the works were finished.
The castle has 200 rooms and 30 bathrooms, of which only a small number on the ground floor have been opened to the public.
The castle was equipped by Cuypers with the electrical lighting with its own generator, and central heating with steam. This installation is internationally recognized as an industrial monument. We couldn't see the kitchen, but as far as I understood, it's also very modern.

From De Haar


The inside of the castle is decorated with richly ornamented woodcarvings and many works of the Rothschild collections, like beautiful old porcelain from Japan and China, several old Flemish tapestries and paintings with religious illustrations.
One of the most interesting rooms is the Ridderzaal [Knight's Hall] with its chandeliers with incorporated galloping knights.

From De Haar


In this room, as well as in the Hall and the Banquet Hall, the highest virtues of the Middle Ages -Knighthood and Christianity- are always present in the decoration.

I want to go back in the Spring to enjoy the gardens with all the flowers and lakes. Must be even prettier by then! :-)

16 comments:

Teresa said...

Este castelo é lindíssimo em qualquer altura do ano, mas na primavera é ainda melhor. Como fica aqui perto de casa, a pouco mais de meia hora de bicicleta em ritmo de passeio, vamos até lá com alguma frequência. E claro que é ponto de passagem obrigatório para quem nos vem visitar. Beijinhos.

Presépio no Canal said...

Que maravilha, Teresa! Passear de bicicleta por ai deve ser muito bom e relaxante :-) Boa!

Margarida Elias said...

O castelo é uma maravilha e faz-me lembrar os dos contos de fadas - nesse sentido, recordou-me o Palácio da Pena. Escreveste que ele foi restaurado no final do século XIX. Já havia um edifício anterior? Era um castelo? Bj!
P.S. Adorei os veados!!!!

Presépio no Canal said...

Sim, medieval (1391), mas estava em ruinas.
Agora tambem estao a finalizar obras de manutencao e melhoramento. Por isso, nao pudemos visitar mais divisoes.
Tambem me lembrei dos contos de fadas :-) e quando entrei neste castelo, lembrei-me de Neuschwanstein:
http://presepiocomvistaparaocanal.blogspot.com/search/label/Neuschwanstein
Bjs! :-)

Presépio no Canal said...

Esqueci-me de dizer que os veados me fizeram lembrar a Tapada de Mafra...:-)

Castles Crowns and Cottages said...

Deaest Sandra, you have captured my attention once again with a captivating photo of one of the most beautiful settings for a magnificent chateau. I love the shot of the dear, and my heart yearns to visit your world. Much love to you today, Anita

Presépio no Canal said...

:-) Anita, is magnificent, isn't it? I want to go back in the Spring to photograph the gardens :-)
Veel kusjes!

Unknown said...

Parabéns pelo aniversário, Sandrinha!
Have I written it correctly? :D
Beautiful castle, I haven't been there yet and I am hinking that it might be great there in spring, as you say, or even summer. Thanks for showing it to us!

cristina ribeiro said...

Festejar um aniversário num paraíso destes? Obrigada pelo convite, Sandra.
Parabéns!

Presépio no Canal said...

Cristina :D Obrigada!

E bonito o local, nao e? :-) Nos tambem gostamos muito :-)

Bjs!

Presépio no Canal said...

Aledys, Thank you :-) I need sun, Aledys, I need sun!
I'm dreaming with walks, sun, and walks and more sun!! :-))

bikim said...

parabéns!!!!!!!!!!!
é lindo!
que belo passeio!
Rosa

Presépio no Canal said...

Obrigada, Rosa!! :-)
Beijinhos!!

ana said...

Sandra,
Tão bonito o castelo, os jardins, o parque, a geometrização do jardim próximo do castelo. Tudo lindíssimo!
Parabéns pelo 3º aniversário. Como a Margarida disse parece um castelo das histórias infantis, fadas e princesas.
Bjs! :)

Presépio no Canal said...

Ana, obrigada pelas flores! Sao lindissimas!
:-)
Este castelo faz sonhar ;-)
Bjs :-)

Castles Crowns and Cottages said...

MY DEAREST! OBRIGADA, MERCI, DANK U, GRACIAS, for your well wishes!!!! LOVE TO YOU, Anita