A buitenplaats (literally "outside place") was a summer residence for rich townspeople in the Netherlands. During the Dutch Golden Age of the 17th century, many traders and city administrators in Dutch towns became very wealthy. Many of them bought country estates, at first mainly to collect rents, however soon mansions started to be built there, which were used only during the summer.
Buitenplaatsen or buitenhuizen could be found in picturesque regions which were easily accessible from the owner's home in town, and they were near a clean water source. Most wealthy families kept their children in buitenhuizen during the summer to flee the putrid canals of the cities and the accompanying onset of cholera and other diseases. Though most buitenhuizen have been demolished, examples are still in existence along the river Vecht, the river Amstel, the Spaarne in Kennemerland, the river Vliet and in Wassenaar. Some still exist near former lakes (now polders) like the Watergraafsmeer and Beemster, which were popular too. In the 19th century with improvements in water management, new regions came into fashion, such as the Utrecht Hill Ridge (Utrechtse Heuvelrug) and the area around Arnhem.
Buitenplaatsen are often mistaken for castles; however, a castle usually dates from medieval times and thus was usually founded and owned by nobles, while buitenplaatsen were primarily built and owned by the newly rich bourgeoisie during the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Many buitenhuizen are built on top of the ruins of earlier castles that were destroyed during the Dutch revolt. The owners adopted the castle name, giving themselves a hint of nobility. Like early English country houses, buitenhuizen were only used during the summer. The wealthy owners then returned in the autumn to their residences in Amsterdam, Utrecht, Leiden, The Hague, Haarlem, Dordrecht, and other prominent cities. By the end of the 18th century these places were lined up side by side along the banks of the more prominent rivers. William Thomas Beckford, who published an account of his letters back home from his Grand Tour, traveled by trekschuit from Amsterdam to Utrecht and wrote home on July 2, 1780, with this to say about the buitenhuizen along the Vecht river;
"Both sides of the way are lined with the country-houses and gardens of opulent citizens, as fine as gilt statues and clipped hedges can make them. Their number is quite astonishing: from Amsterdam to Utrecht, full thirty miles, we beheld no other objects than endless avenues and stiff parterres scrawled and flourished in patterns like the embroidery of an old maid’s work-bag."
— William Beckford on the Vecht, 1780, [1]
The core of a buitenplaats was the mansion, a stately building in which the owner and his family were housed. Around it was a garden decorated with fountains and statues. Often there were also an orangerie with exotic plants, an aviary or a grotto with shells. The buitenplaats was often connected to a farm or a forest.
During the 19th century buitenplaatsen became outmoded, and often they were also too expensive to use exclusively in the summer. In some regions buitenplaatsen disappeared altogether, in other regions, such as Vecht and Kennemerland they still exist. Most were torn down to make way for housing developments, infrastructural changes (most of the Wijkermeer is under the North Sea Canal), and apartment buildings. Even in the case of Hofwijck, whose inhabitants were so notable that the house is a museum today, the place was nearly flattened in the early 20th century to make way for the railway, and today commuters between The Hague and Zoetermeer can get a good look at the old house. Often the street name or park name is a reminder of the old house (such as Groenendaal Park). Few are open to the public however, as many of them are still inhabited, though not usually year round.
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Heemstede is a town and a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is the fourth richest municipality of the Netherlands.
Floris V reigned as Count of Holland and Zeeland from 1256 until 1296. His life was documented in detail in the Rijmkroniek by Melis Stoke, his chronicler. He is credited with a mostly peaceful reign, modernizing administration, policies beneficial to trade, generally acting in the interests of his peasants at the expense of nobility, and reclaiming land from the sea. His dramatic murder, engineered by King Edward I of England and Guy, Count of Flanders, made him a hero in Holland.
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The Vecht is a Rhine branch in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is sometimes called Utrechtse Vecht to avoid confusion with its Overijssel counterpart. The area along the river is called the Vechtstreek.
Zuyderzée was a department of the First French Empire in the present-day Netherlands. It is named after the Zuiderzee sea inlet. It was formed in 1810, when the Kingdom of Holland was annexed by France. Its territory corresponded more or less with the present-day Dutch provinces of North Holland and Utrecht. Its capital was Amsterdam.
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Kennemerland is a coastal region in the northwestern Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It includes the sand dunes north of the North Sea Canal, as well as the dunes of Zuid-Kennemerland National Park.
Zuilen is a district in the Northwest section of the Dutch city of Utrecht.
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John Hope, also known as Jan Hope, was a wealthy Dutch banker, participating in Hope & Co., a member of the city council and an art collector. In 1770 he was appointed as manager of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). He is also known today for his Groenendaal Park in Heemstede, where he summered on his estate. Shortly before he died he bought the nearby "Bosbeek". This estate became one of the first examples of a large garden in the 'English Style' in the Netherlands, and shaped by his second son Adrian Elias. His oldest son Thomas Hope became a designer of neoclassical interior decoration, and his youngest son Henry Philip Hope a gem collector and jewelry specialist.
The Vechtstreek is a region in the Dutch provinces of Utrecht and North Holland along the Vecht River between the towns of Utrecht and Amsterdam. Located in the economic heartland of the Netherlands, it is known for its natural environment and history. The Vechtstreek is known for its many vestiges of the Dutch Golden Age, including castles, homes, parks and tea houses. They bear witness to the greatness and wealth of that period, the important commercial role played by the Vecht River and the area's history as a residential area for the nobility and wealthy.
Zuylen Castle is a Dutch castle at the village of Oud-Zuilen just north of the city of Utrecht. It is located along the river Vecht at the southern end of the Vechtstreek.
Stichtse Vecht is a municipality of the Netherlands and lies in the northwestern part of the province of Utrecht.
Haerlempjes refer to a specific genre of landscape painting that includes a view of Haarlem. It is used most often to refer to Jacob van Ruisdael's panoramic views of the city, but the term is derived from mentions in Haarlem archives as a type of painting included in household inventories. The diminutive suffix "pje" would denote a small, cabinet-sized painting, but even the largest landscapes may be referred to as Haerlempjes today.
The Kennemer uprising was a rebellion of farmers in the County of Holland and Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht in the Holy Roman Empire, that took place between 1272 and 1274. The commoners or huislieden from the Kennemerland, a bailiwick within the County of Holland, rose up against their bailiff and the other nobles. The movement spread to the nearby West Friesland, Waterland and Amstelland. The lord of Amstelland, Gijsbrecht IV of Amstel decided to join the insurrenction and became the leader of the Kennemers. Later Utrecht, Amersfoort and Eemland also joined. Eventually, the Kennemers were defeated.
The Siege of Vredelant took place from late 1279 to 1280 and was fought between Floris V of Holland and Bishop-Elect John I of Nassau on one side and the rebellious Van Amstel family on the other side. The castle of Vredelant was taken within weeks when Gijsbrecht IV van Amstel was captured by the count's soldiers.
