Jaap van 't Veen's photos with the keyword: Velsen-Zuid

The history of Buitenplaats Beeckestijn (summer residence Beeckestijn) goes back to the 15th century. Beeckestijn used to be a country house for rich merchants from Amsterdam. In 1742, Jan Jacob Boreel bought Beeckestijn. Of all the residents, he left his mark on the appearance of the estate the most. Since early 2011, Natuurmonumenten has been the manager of the gardens and the park forest. The publicly accessible gardens of Beeckestijn are unique in the Netherlands, because it is the only location where one can simultaneously view two historically different styles. Just behind the manor a geometrically conceived part in the style of the French Baroque and adjacent a more natural English landscape park. Beeckestijn also has so-called utility gardens, such as a vegetable garden, orchard and herb garden. One of these gardens has a serpentine wall on two sides. The Netherlands only has eight of these walls left, two of which are at Beeckestijn. The winding shape retains heat from the sun and ensures that espalier fruit such as peaches, apricots and other exotic fruits can grow here. Garden and park forest are managed by ‘Natuurmonumenten’ - a Dutch society for preservation of nature monuments in the Netherlands.

Velserbeek is one of the many so called buitenplaatsen (summer residences) west of the city of Haarlem along the inner dunes. Wealthy merchants from Amsterdam built their mansionsin the 16th and 17th centuries. Buitenplaats Velserbeek is dating back to jaar 1544. Originally it was a farmhouse, owned by the regent-family Ramp who lived in nearby Overveen and held governmental positions in Haarlem. In 1639, the homestead was sold to the wealthy Amsterdam merchant Jerimias van Keulen. Van Keulen was very wealthy and had a family of 15 children. He had the homestead extended into a country estate with the present mansion and ornamental gardens. The park was laid out in the French. In the years that followed, Velserbeek had several different owners. From 1781 it was owned by the members of the Goll van Franckenstein family. Until 1832 Velserbeek remained in the possession of this family. The heirs sold the Velserbeek country house to the Van Tuyll van Serooskerken family. Baron Ernst van Tuyll almost immediately commissioned changes to the garden layout. The most important change is the creation of a deer park in front of the mansion, which nowadays still exists. In 1919 Velserbeek was sold to two entrepreneurs, who want to convert the main building into a factory. Eventually, the municipality of Velsen buys the estate: the most beautiful part became a public park, while another part is destined for the construction of villas. Since 1995, Buitenplaats Velserbeek has been owned by a law firm, which has restored the house.