August, 2001
A little history
Kasteel de Haar has a rich history, but dating back from the 13th century it has been owned by the van de Haar family, hence the name, and came into the hands of the van Zuylens upon the marriage of Josyna van de Haar to Dirk van Zuylen in 1449. According to legend probably originating from the Renaissance, the van Zuylen family has descended from a Roman dictator in the first century B.C. Other legends differ only a little and still date the family back to an important Roman line.
It was Baron Etienne van Zuylen who started rebuilding the castle in 1892. The Baron had married Héléne de Rothschild whose priceless art and antique collections still adorn the castle.
The photo above is a close-up of the sculpture at the front entrance. Duplicates of the statues are at the other side of the main stairway.
It took 20 years to complete the reconstruction including the main castle, the gardens, bridges, ponds, moat, stables and guest house you can see below which is connected to the castle by a covered walkway. And all buildings - even the ones in the village - are decorated with the red and white stripe design which is part of the original crest of the family.
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© Rollie Braam - 2001