Jaap van 't Veen's photos with the keyword: Gooi en Vechtstreek

The history of the estates in ‘s-Graveland dates back to the year of 1625 (during the Dutch Golden Age). In that year wealthy Amsterdam merchants did get permission to cultivate an area west of Hilversum The sandy soil was excavated and transported by boat to Amsterdam, where it was used for the expansion of the city. On the way back, the ships took manure and rubbish with them to enrich the infertile soil of 's-Graveland. Initially farms were founded on the lots and leased to farmers. Later several estates were created with country houses with park-like gardens. Jagtlust is a small country estate that historically belongs to the other estates of 's-Graveland. The original farmstead is known by various names such as Het Derde Heihuis , Groot Jan and De Laetste Stuyver . It was not until 1791 that the name Jagtlust was used. Jagtlust was built on the site of a former inn De Laetste Stuyver . Originally it was a fairly simple country house. More than 70 years after the estate Heilust was added to Jagtlust , it was given its present form in 1900. The house became a second storey, a tower-like extension with a circular staircase and an adjoining orangery. Although one of the smaller estates in 's-Graveland it has a lot to offer: an impressive manor, a large vegetable garden, all kinds of follies and a number of remarkable trees. Among them a moerascipres (Bald cypress), planted around the year of 1865. This tree has a lot of remarkable cypress knees, which is very rare in the Netherlands (PiP3). A nearby tulpenboom (Liriodendron) is even some years older. This tree was struck by lightning a few years ago and will be cut down for safety reasons (PiP4 and 5) In 2006 the estate was bought by Natuurmonumenten (Society for Preservation of Nature Monuments in the Netherlands), ensuring that the manors and their gardens can retain their grandeur. Nowadays Jagtlust is one of the ten estates in 's-Graveland.

The history of the estates in ‘s-Graveland dates back to the year of 1625 (during the Dutch Golden Age). In that year wealthy Amsterdam merchants did get permission to cultivate an area west of Hilversum The sandy soil was excavated and transported by boat to Amsterdam, where it was used for the expansion of the city. On the way back, the ships took manure and rubbish with them to enrich the infertile soil of 's-Graveland. Initially farms were founded on the lots and leased to farmers. Later several estates were created with country houses with park-like gardens. In 1634, 27 lots were raffled among interested parties. One of the lots went to “Pieter Cornelisz Hooft” and “Godert van Reede” who bought the piece of land as an investment because of the sand digging. Hooft and his wife were living on Muiderslot Castle . In 1657 “Jacob Bicker” became the owner, who had a farm, possibly as a country house. The current country house was built in 1779 - late Louis XVI-style - for “Gerrit Corver Hooft”, administrator of the West-Indische Companie (Dutch West India Company). In the following years, the geometric garden was laid out on the estate, which in the early 19th century was transformed into an English landscape-style park. In 1895, “Louise Six” inherited the estate. When she died in 1934, she bequeathed Gooilust to the Vereiniging Natuurmonumenten (Society for Preservation of Nature Monuments in the Netherlands). The park is freely accessible, but the manor itself is not.

The history of the estates in ‘s-Graveland dates back to the year of 1625 (during the Dutch Golden Age). In that year wealthy Amsterdam merchants did get permission to cultivate an area west of Hilversum The sandy soil was excavated and transported by boat to Amsterdam, where it was used for the expansion of the city. On the way back, the ships took manure and rubbish with them to enrich the infertile soil of 's-Graveland. Initially farms were founded on the lots and leased to farmers. Later several estates were created with country houses with park-like gardens. Two of the plots came into the hands of “Jan van Hellemond”, a very wealthy husband of “Margaret van Raephorst”. In 1654 the couple built a luxurious country estate called De Hooge Dreuvik . After Jan's death (1665) Margaret inherited the estate. Two years later she married with Cornelis Tromp - famous Dutch admiral - who became the owner of the estate. But the manor - like many others in ‘s-Graveland - were looted and burned by the French during the Dutch War in 1672. The country house was rebuilt from 1675 to 1684 by Tromp, who called it Sillisburgh , after one of his titles. Around 1720 “Jacob Roeters” came into possession of the estate and renamed it Trompenburgh . The house is almost entirely surrounded by water and was built to resemble a ship, even with decks and railings. Of the many manors in 's-Graveland Trompenburgh is the most elegant. Nowadays Trompenburgh is owned by Stichting Monumenten Bezit , a Dutch foundation acting as a national management organisation for monuments and/or buildings of cultural and historical value. The estate is not open for visitors.

In the year of 1625 rich Amsterdam merchants did get permission to cultivate an area west of Hilversum – nowadays called 's-Graveland. The sandy soil was excavated and transported by boat to Amsterdam, where it was used for the expansion of the city. Initially farms were founded on the lots. Later several estates were created, covering a manor in a large park and a farmhouse with pastures and fields. One of these estates is Boekesteyn, where the first owner Benedict Schaeck built a farm. Early 18th century the property was sold and on a map of 1725 a house is already marked. Around the year of 1750 the estate got its name “Boekesteyn”, probably named after the many beech trees on the property (boeke = beuk = beech); the lawn at the front of the manor still has some of these historic beeches. Huis Boekesteyn was built twenty years later by Solomon Dedel. During a renovation and expansion in 1915 it got the present tower and conservatory. In 1992 the estate is purchased by Natuurmonumenten, a Dutch nature organization. Nowadays Boekesteyn is one of the more than ten estates in 's-Graveland.