Jaap van 't Veen's photos with the keyword: Utrecht

Kasteel Renswoude (Renswoude Castle), formerly called Borchwal , is a castle and knight's manor and estate nearby the village of Renswoude. The first house probably dates from the late 14th century. Perhaps the name refers to a borgwal (circular rampart) that surrounded the castle. During the Dutch 'Golden Age' - in 1654 – the original house was demolished by order of Johan van Reede and replaced by the current country house in Dutch-classicist style. It was probably built on the medieval foundations. The castle has a special design, which gives it a double appearance. The white plastered back gives the building a real country-house appearance, while the front with its towers is more reminiscent of a castle. The facade of the main building is dominated by the large tower in the middle with a corner tower protruding on either side. Kasteel Renswoude is surrounded by a park, which is open to the public. Nowadays the castle is divided into several apartments where some members of the castle owners' family reside.

Windmill ‘Rijn en Lek’ is dating back to 1659, when it was built on top of the - only remaining - medieval city gate of the town, the Leuterpoort. In the beginning it was used as a bark mill, but around 1820 it became a flourmill, which it still is. The mill stands proudly above the gate on the dike and is the only mill in the Netherlands on top of a city gate. The ‘Rijn en Lek’ is often confused with the windmill painted by Ruisdael, called ‘The windmill at Wijk bij Duurstede’, which stood a few blocks away. The mill got its name ‘Rijn en Lek’ due to the fact that the river Rhine changes it name into Lek River downstream from Wijk bij Duurstede.

Kasteel Duurstede (Duurstede Castle) is dating back to the 13th century and is one of the oldest medieval castles in the Netherlands. Around 1270 Zweder I van Zuylen van Abcoude built a freestanding keep on a raised and moated site nearby the (lost) city Dorestad. This building was about 11 meters high and had 2.5 meter thick walls. Later on an extra floor and a residential wing with a great hall were added. Until the beginning of the 15th century the castle was possessed by the Van Zuylen van Abcoude family, when they were forced to sell it to the bishops of Utrecht who kept it until 1580. After that year Kasteel Duurstede fell to the States of Utrecht. They had no money to maintain the castle, so it slowly fell into decay. And after the French troops had devastated the town of Wijk bij Duurstede in 1672 the locals repaired their houses and the town walls with stones from the castle. In 1852 the town council became owner of the castle and turned the fortifications around the castle into a park. Until around 1925 the castle could only be reached with a little ferry; nowadays there is a little drawbridge. Today only the two towers and some of the walls remain, but the castle has been renovated to include a terrace cafe, gazebo in the garden and rooms inside which are used for events or weddings.

Kasteel Amerongen (Amerongen Castle) was built between 1670 and 1684 on the site of a medieval castle, that had been burned down by French troops. The great Dutch house, garden and furnishings form a unit seldom seen in the Netherlands. The castle has a rich family-history, going back 700 years. The owners played an important part in the Dutch and European history. Godard Adriaan van Reede (1621-1691) held a key-position in the insurrection against the French supremacy. As a retribution the house was burnt down by the French in 1673, but rebuilt by his wife Margaretha Turnor in Dutch classicist style. After World War I the German Kaiser Wilhelm II (1859-1941) lived at the castle for 18 months and signed his abdication here in 1918. Kasteel Amerongen is surrounded by historical gardens. The castle itself can be visited (quite limited opening hours) only by a guided tour.

The Blauwe Kamer is a nature reserve created in 1992 after a dike along the river Rhine was dug away. Since then the water of the river has free rein in the new nature reserve. As a result, nature is constantly in motion. The dynamics of the river create height differences and attract special plants and animals. Flowery vegetations give color to the landscape. In several places willow forest grows and marshes are created. Nowadays it is a paradise for birds - among them spoonbills, egrets and comarants - and bird lovers. The flora in the area is rich and sometimes consists of species that were previously unknown in the river area. The Blauwe Kamer is home of semi-wild Galloways and Konik horses. The beaver also feels at home. The name of the Blauwe Kamer comes from a manor house from the year 1636. In addition, a brick factory later stood in the nature reserve, until 1975, which bore this name; remnants of this factory can still be seen.

Kasteel de Haar (The Haar Castle) is one of the most visited castles in the Netherlands. Originally it was named Het Huys te Haer . However the current Gothic fairy-tale castle was built between 1892 and 1912 with incorporation of the large 15th century ruins of the original castle. Kasteel de Haar was first mentioned in 1391 along a blind arm of the river Rhine. Originally the owner was a member of the “Van de Haar” family. In 1449 the castle became property of the “Van Zuylen” family through the marriage between Josyna van de Haar and Dirk van Zuylen. Several families owned the castle until 1890 when baron “Etienne van Zuylen van Nijevelt”, inherited Kasteel de Haar (by then the castle had been in a ruinous and desolate state for almost two centuries). In 1887 Etienne had married the French baroness Helene de Rothschild (member of the extremely wealthy De Rothschild family), which enabled him to rebuilt the castle. In 1892 the rebuilding of Kasteel de Haar started under the direction of the well known Dutch architect Cuypers. It's his interpretation of the ‘medieval’ castle one can see today. The interior was rebuilt in an un-Dutch luxurious style, it was equipped with electricity and the former courtyard, covered with a large roof, was turned into an imprerssive central hall. The interior is luxuriously decorated with a large but incoherent collection of valuable antiques from all over the world. In 2000 the ownership of the castle was transferred to “Stichting Kasteel de Haar”. This foundation worked to transform the place into a museum and event center. The castle has 200 rooms - although not all of them can be visited. A couple of rooms are arranged with realistic displays to show how the castle would have looked like in his days of parties. Nowadays Kasteel de Haar is (almost) open daily for visitors.

Kasteel de Haar (The Haar Castle) is one of the most visited castles in the Netherlands. Originally it was named Het Huys te Haer . However the current Gothic fairy-tale castle was built between 1892 and 1912 with incorporation of the large 15th century ruins of the original castle. Kasteel de Haar was first mentioned in 1391 along a blind arm of the river Rhine. Originally the owner was a member of the “Van de Haar” family. In 1449 the castle became property of the “Van Zuylen” family through the marriage between Josyna van de Haar and Dirk van Zuylen. Several families owned the castle until 1890 when baron “Etienne van Zuylen van Nijevelt”, inherited Kasteel de Haar (by then the castle had been in a ruinous and desolate state for almost two centuries). In 1887 Etienne had married the French baroness Helene de Rothschild (member of the extremely wealthy De Rothschild family), which enabled him to rebuilt the castle. In 1892 the rebuilding of Kasteel de Haar started under the direction of the well known Dutch architect Cuypers. It's his interpretation of the ‘medieval’ castle one can see today. The interior was rebuilt in a un-Dutch luxurious style, it was equipped with electricity and the former courtyard, covered with a large roof, was turned into an imprerssive central hall. The interior is luxuriously decorated with a large but incoherent collection of valuable antiques from all over the world. In 2000 the ownership of the castle was transferred to “Stichting Kasteel de Haar”. This foundation worked to transform the place into a museum and event center. The castle has 200 rooms - although not all of them can be visited. A couple of rooms are arranged with realistic displays to show how the castle would have looked like in his days of parties. Nowadays Kasteel de Haar is (almost) open daily for visitors.

The Hoekermolen is a polder mill, which already appears on a map before the year of 1639. The current mill was built in 1874 on the site of an earlier mill, which burned down in that year after lightning struck. That new mill was a redundant Amsterdam industrial mill. The Hoekermolen drained the polder until 1959. In that year, the polder was connected to the Garstenpolder and the drainage was taken over by an electric pumping station. Around 1963 the mill was restored and sold. It was stipulated that the windmill should always remain available as a back-up pumping station for the combined Hoeker-Garstenpolder. The Hoekermolen therefore always remained operational and actually had to step in once in 1994. In 2005/2006, the windmill was thoroughly restored once more, and a longer screw pump was installed in order to cope with the lowered polder level.

The Fort bij Nigtevecht (Fort near Nigtevecht) was completed in 1904. The purpose of the fort (part of the Stelling van Amsterdam *) was to defend the accesses to Amsterdam, formed by the Merwedekanaal (nowadays Amsterdam-Rhine Canal) and the river Vecht. It also protected the sluices between these two waters. A second battery is located in the defence line wall near the fort. The fort has also three mounds, which are the remnants of anti-aircraft artillery positions that were installed in 1927. During the mobilization from 1915 till 1918 about 300 soldiers slept in the fort. In World War II, the Germans used it for storage. The fort - hidden in the green - is located on a quiet location near the Amsterdam-Rijn Kanaal. One can walk around wfor free. A large part of this stronghold was made waterproof and restored by Stichting Herstelling , a Dutch foundation that offers work experience to the jobless. Fort bij Nigtevecht is owned and managed by Natuurmonumenten , a Society for Preservation of Nature Monuments in the Netherlands. * The Stelling van Amsterdam (Defence Line of Amsterdam) is a 135 kilometers long ring of fortifications around Amsterdam. It was built between 1883 and 1920 and consisted of 46 armed forts and batteries, acting in concert with an intricate system of dikes, sluices, canals and inundation polders. It is a major example of a fortification based on the principle of temporary flooding of the land, aimed at protecting the Dutch capital against a possible foreign attack. The Stelling van Amsterdam is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1996.

From the 12th century onwards, the wild peat bogs in this area were reclaimed for cattle breeding. Settlers dug ditches and watercourses to drain the water. Due to this water extraction, the land subsided and the natural drainage of water was endangered. In order to prevent the hard-won areas from flooding again, the water had to be drained from the polder using windmills. The Garstenmolen (Garsten Mill) was built in 1876 after its predecessor burned down. The mill served to drain the Garstenpolder until 1960. After this was taken over by an electric pumping station, wheels, axles and spindles were removed to turn the mill into a dwelling. In 2006/2007, the mill was thoroughly restored and made mill-ready again. The mill was fitted with a new longer screw pump, so that water from the polder can once again be milled into the river Vecht. Volunteer millers keep the mill running. The mill can be visited when it is in operation.

‘Huis Doorn’ was first mentioned in the year of 838 as ‘Villa Thorhem’. Later this ‘Hof Doorn’ was owned by a deanery. Around 1200 the castle is owned by the dean of the cathedral itself and used as monastic grange. The oldest parts of ‘Huis Doorn’ are dating back to the end of the 13th century and (most probably) built by dean Adolf van Waldeck. In 13 22 the castle was completely destroyed and rebuilt twenty-five years later as a moated seat. In the following centuries the castle had many owners and was often renovated and expanded. At the end of the 18th century it was converted into an elegant country house, still with a moat. The surrounding park was laid out as an English landscape garden. At the end of World War I the last German Kaiser Wilhelm II fled to the neutral Netherlands, where he was given political asylum. After a stay in Castle Amerongen he bought ‘Huis Doorn’ in 1919. After extensive alterations he finally moved to Doorn in May 1920, where he lived in exile until his death in June 1941. He is buried in a mausoleum in the gardens (PiP 3). After the German occupation in World War II, the house was seized by the Dutch government as hostile property. Nowadays - still owned by the government - it houses a museum about World War I and the life of Kaiser Wilhelm II in ‘Huis Doorn’.

Windmill ‘Rijn en Lek’ is dating back to 1659, when it was built on top of the - only remaining - medieval city gate of the town, the Leuterpoort. In the beginning it was used as a bark mill, but around 1820 it became a flourmill, which it still is. The mill stands proudly above the gate on the dike, next to the water meadow outside the city wall and nearly always catches enough wind. The ‘Rijn en Lek’ is the only drive-through-windmill in the world. It is often confused with the windmill painted by Ruisdael, called ‘The windmill at Wijk bij Duurstede’, which stood a few blocks away. The mill got its name ‘Rijn en Lek’ due to the fact that the Rhine changes its name into Lek River downstream from Wijk bij Duurstede.