Kasteel de Haar
August, 2001
Exterior
The park and several gardens were designed to have the character of the 16th century. There are gardens reminiscent of Roman and French as well as original designs and the colors were implemented as if they had been created by a landscape painter. Nothing was left to the imagination - there were even 7000 forty-year-old old trees brought from all over the province of Utrecht. They also utilized the original infrastructure of the canals and kitchen gardens. There was as much importance placed on this part of the estate as the buildings and interiors.
The photos above and the one below show two views of the Roman Garden. This garden was even designed with 'devensive' elements with a rampart along the outside just high enough "to protect a kneeling bowman.".
Every garden on this estate is a sight to behold. One can only imagine what it would look like in the Spring at the height of the blooming season. Especially the Rose Garden and the French Renaissance Garden shown below.
The chapel on the grounds (below) was first mentioned around 1420 but it appears that some parts of the tower may even be older. The history of the chapel is interesting, though, some of which states that during the 1700's the roof collapsed and the local citizens of the hamlet used the what remained as a stable and store-room. Into the 19th century enough of the rafters and trusses showing a detailed Gothic barrel vault inside the nave.
A new granite floor with symbols of the baron's family were installed and two 16th century tombstones still remain as well as decorated tombs in remembrance of The Baron Etienne (1860-1934) and his eldest son, Helen van Zuylen (1999-1912). Much of the interior has been upgraded to the 19th century decor and the entire wall of the chapel holds the history of the owners of the castle.
I could go on for hours about the beauty of this estate and the surrounding village, but I would only hope that on your next visit to Holland you will take a day to experience Kasteel de Haar for yourself and drop me a line to tell me what you thought of it. On the next pages I have just included some of the photos we took of the outside areas that weren't included in the story.
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© Rollie Braam - 2001