wassenaar photos on Flickr

Old Wassenaar Castle is not actually a castle as we know it from the 16th and 17th centuries, for example. It is located in a beautiful wooded area of Wassenaar. A pond and fields extend in front of the house. The stork's nest at the highest point of the facade is characteristic.

With the beautiful special spaces in the building, the total forms a versatile location

Oud-Wassenaar Castle is a nineteenth-century villa, a large country retreat. The eccentric architecture and the great ambiance make this national monument a unique location.

The original building on this spot was an old summer residence. This was demolished in 1872 and replaced between 1876 and 1879. The current Oud Wassenaar castle was designed by the neo-Renaissance architect Constantijn Muysken. When designing this castle, this architect took the environment into account. His use of materials was intended to give an impression of seventeenth-century cityscapes. He achieved this through the alternating use of colors in the facades. He deliberately wanted to give the building the impression of a castle, above that of a large millionaire's villa. We succeeded, because in most castle books we indeed find this 'modern' building.

After the death of the last resident in 1904, the heirs transferred Oud-Wassenaar to National Land Ownership in The Hague. Because no new occupant could be found, it was decided in 1907 to exploit the castle as a hotel, although the building was not really suitable for that. An annex was built for this purpose outside the direct view of the castle, which was connected to the castle by a covered corridor. The hotel was opened in 1910 and to the surprise of many, the exploitation of the hotel went beyond expectations.

Over the years, Oud-Wassenaar Castle became the temporary residence of many great people who came to stay here.

During the Second World War, the German occupier of the Netherlands moved into the castle. After these dark years, Oud-Wassenaar became a government hotel for a number of years. It housed many foreign heads of state in those years.

After this period, the hotel business was discontinued. The annex was demolished and replaced by a number of apartments. The castle has since been operated as a space for meetings, conferences and presentations by companies and individuals. Weddings and parties can also be held. Apart from the occasions mentioned above, the castle is not open to the public.

The exterior of the building was restored between 2001 and 2005 because the anchoring was in poor condition and the dormer windows were full of rust. In 2006, Castle Oud-Wassenaar was registered in the monument register and in February 2009 the Council of State determined that this historic country estate of Oud-Wassenaar remains a protected national monument.

The path to the tea house by Shahrazad26

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Wassenaar

Beach Wassenaar by borisbschulz2009

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Panbos Wassenaar by Linda Ouwehand

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Wassenaar, Museum Voorlinden by Bert van Voorst

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Museum Voorlinden Wassenaar. by Cor Slee

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