Today, with time to spare before my flight from Eindhoven back to Edinburgh, I decided to indulge in a bit of early-morning touristing. While smearing jam on a freshly baked roll, I asked myself what in Utrecht or nearabout most tickles my fancy to see. Initially, I hadn’t planned any excursions, justifying that a tight schedule meant little wiggle-room for kicking about town looking at old stuff. After all, I was solely here to moderate a conference.
However, I woke up this morning feeling otherwise… as you do when you have an insatiable appetite for exploring... (Accompanied by sleeplessness, my newfound pal = more hours in the day.) Having lived in the Netherlands before relocating to Edinburgh, I made sure public transport was operational and all systems were ago. Skipped out of the hotel with bags in tow and, like Bilbo, cried [internally] “I’m going on an adventure!”
Sign posts on bus stops and paper attraction cards stacked in the hotel dining area pointed me towards one place: Kasteel De Haar.
True to form, I managed to enter the grounds through the wrong entrance… but, in my defence, the grand black gates were open and welcoming. I approached a passer-by on her electric bike and discovered that a neighbouring school was setting up a running route through the castle grounds, and I had fortuitously stumbled upon preparations. If my school had promised me that obligatory long-distance runs would take me past the front doors of castles, then perhaps I wouldn't have been so dismissive of exercise.
Transformed by Piere Cuypers and his sons in the late 19th Century, the castle boasts a drawbridge and a surrounding moat, set amidst a vast park with meandering paths and lakes. Its foundations date back as early as the Middle Ages… the towering spires and crenels make for an imposing structure in midst of all the greenery. In fact, I imagine it would be far better to peruse the gardens in the summer months - as two other Hivers did back in 2018 and '19, #pinmapple posts accessible here and here.
The route this took me down a lengthy, straight road that served as a grand approach to Kasteel Den Haar - a very majestic introduction. Its name derives from the sandy embankment, or “haru”, upon which the castle was erected back in 1100. A century later, the original structure, likely no more than a wooden citadel, was levelled, enwalled, and topped with a formidable tower. The Lords of De Haar, the wealthy family who held dominion over the land and its defences, became vassals of the Bishop of Utrecht. By the fifteenth century, the once modest tower had been expanded to create an immense, pentagonal castle with several towers and an open courtyard…
The site suffered near-total destruction during the religious conflicts of 1482, known as the Stichtse Oorlog. It survived the Franco-Dutch war in 1672 and scraped through the heavy summer storm two years later. But unlike our modest Rosslyn, Kasteel Den Haar was never forgotten... passing from heir to heir. Extensive rebuilding efforts in the sixteenth century rose its status as a luxury house of residence – or ridderhofstad (“stately manor”), but it was only after the castle was inherited by Baron Etienne van Zuylen van Nijevelt that the real work could begin. With the financial backing of Hélène de Rothschild, the Kasteel was resurrected into the lavish, resplendent and luxurious residence it is today. Finally, in 2000, ownership of the castle was transferred to a foundation called Stichtig Kasteel De Haar, putting an end to nine centuries of ownership through hereditary success.
My mouth dropped after stepping into the main hall. The floor plan of the Main Hall is the same as that of the medieval courtyard – apparently there was a well and horses were kept here. The slight distortions of its different sized walls gave the space a warm and inviting feeling, despite the grandeur and opulence, if that makes sense. I believe Cuypers emphasised the fact that this had once been an outdoor space by painting the walls grey and gladding them with imitation brickwork. Craning one’s head to look at the ceiling will leave you breathless - and, according to one staff member - with a strained neck. "Careful there, don't pull a muscle trying to decode the secrets of the ceiling!"
Guides stationed in every room added a unique dynamic to the visit. Unlike most historic houses I’ve visited, these men and women actively engaged with the visitors. Through one interaction I discovered that the Baron had enlisted French and English society designers like Henry Nelson and Maple & Co. to furnish their own private quarters on the first and second floors. Cuypers – who, if you didn't click on the hyperlink I added earlier, is the architect behind the Rijksmuseum and Amsterdam Central Station – openly criticised their work... going so far as to claim their craftsmanship was vastly inferior to his own. (I mean, talk about ego.)
I was well aware of the juxtaposition between rooms, having stepped from Cuypers’ immaculately preserved 13th Century Gothic and into the eclectic Maple rooms of the baron and baroness. The modern elements and the medieval tableau work really well as a blend, it must be said. Very pomp and circumstance… a departure from the austerity of Calvinism – the theme of the time. Hilariously, Cuypers, nursing a wounded pride from not having his vision realised, took matters into his own hands. He crafted an elaborate oak door and discreetly installed it behind the white doors leading into the baroness’s chambers, hiding the Louis XVI door from view from the gallery.
Although deemed resplendent, I found its abundance of knickknacks, varied colours, decorative filigree, and overall extravagance to be somewhat overwhelming. One guard even noted that the fireplaces, installed by Cuypers for decoration, had never been used due to the presence of underfloor heating. To be honest, I found myself more captivated by the ceilings in these spaces, which were somewhat less gimmicky/ostentatious than what could be seen at eye-level...
As a child growing up in New Zealand, the mere thought of visiting castles filled me with wonder and excitement. I used to collect little figurines of knights and horses, adorning my room with posters of ancient fortresses snagged from National Geographic magazines. I’d daydream about exploring grand halls and secret passageways. Visiting castles in adulthood takes me back to those moments in my youth. Can anyone else here relate to this? As an adult, I can now appreciate the nuances and complexities of a castle’s design and history in a way that I couldn’t as a child. Yet, the essence of wonder and excitement remains unchanged. If anything, it has grown.
I’m writing this piece whilst sitting on the plane. A little girl sits next to me, sketching figures on white paper and chatting animatedly in Dutch to her mother about the yellow sunset and soft clouds outside my window. Her mother shoots me apologetic looks and I chuckle, envisioning myself one day in her shoes – taking my own children on adventures to faraway places, encouraging their imaginations to roam free.
I’ll tell them that castles like De Haar exist, assure them that I’ve been there.
And I’ll tell them that if they’re lucky, their dreams might come true too someday.
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Photographs: unless otherwise noted, all images were taken by me with an iPhone 8.
