Together with our son we went to explore some parts of The Netherlands, starting with an interesting castle close to Utrecht: Kasteel de Haar.
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| Fairy tail castle .... |
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| well maintained! |
In 1887, the heir to the castle-ruins of de Haar, Baron Etienne van Zuylen, married Hélène de Rothschild. Fully financed by Hélène's family, the couple set about rebuilding the castle from its ruins. For the restoration of the castle, the famous architect Pierre Cuypers was hired. He would work on this project for 20 years (from 1892 to 1912). The castle has 200 rooms and 30 bathrooms equipped with all the luxury of that time.
The once open courtyard of the old castle was transformed into a massive hall with the upper corridors leading into the different rooms.
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| Dressing room for the Lady of the House |
Cuypers not only designed the building as such, but almost all of the details of the interior such as the furniture, the dinnerware and cutlery and even the uniforms of the house staff.
The castle was equipped with the most modern gadgets, such as electrical lighting with its own generator, and central heating by way of steam. The kitchen also was very modern for that time with an enormous furnace approximately 6 metres long, heated with peat or coals. A fridge was cooled with a big block of ice on top.
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| Walking the castle grounds |
The castle grounds of 55 ha were designed to provide a grand and scenic setting for the castle. 7000 trees were planted at almost full maturity to ensure the landscape was well established from day one. At the time, the magnitude of this planting operation caused quite a sensation.
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| Flower of the Day |
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| Butterfly of the Day ;-) |
