Soestdijk palace

Soestdijk Palace (Dutch: Paleis Soestdijk [paːˈlɛis sustˈdɛik]) is a palace formerly belonging to the Dutch Royal Family. It consists of a central block and two wings.

Although named after the village of Soestdijk, which is largely in the municipality of Soest, the Soestdijk Palace is just north of the border in the municipality of Baarn in the province of Utrecht. It was the home for over six decades of Queen Juliana and her husband, Prince Bernhard until their deaths in 2004.

In the middle of the seventeenth century the Country house on the Zoestdijk was built for Cornelis de Graeff. In these years 1655-1660 De Graeff was involved in the education of Willem III of Orange, as can be seen from his letters in Soestdijk to the States-General and his nephew Johan de Witt. During the summers the family spent a lot of their time at the Palace Soestdijk, and De Graeffs sons Pieter and Jacob de Graeff played with the young Willem. In 1674, after the rampjaar, Jacob de Graeff sold it for the low 18,755 Guilder to Stadhouder William III.

Then the palace originally started as a hunting lodge that was built between 1674 and 1678 by Maurits Post, who was also involved in building two other royal palaces, Huis ten Bosch Palace and Noordeinde Palace. William left the Netherlands in 1688 to reside in London as William III of England.

During the French invasion in 1795, the palace was seized as a spoil of war and turned into an inn for French troops. When Louis Bonaparte became King of Holland, he took possession of it and had it extended and refurnished.

It was presented to William II of the Netherlands in 1815 in recognition of his services at the Battle of Waterloo. From 1816 to 1821, the palace was significantly expanded by adding two wings, the northern or Baarn wing, and the southern or Soest wing. In 1842 its contents were enriched by the addition of the neoclassical furnishings of his former palace in Brussels, today the Palais des Académies.

Soestdijk became the property of the State of the Netherlands in 1971, though it was used by Princess Juliana (Queen of the Netherlands from 1948–1980) and Prince Bernhard as their official residence until both of their deaths in 2004. Soestdijk Palace then remained empty and unused for over a year before its opening to the public. From Spring 2006 to 2017, it was possible to visit, pending a decision about its future use. (Wikipedia)

Not only the palace, but also the large adjacent park (with lots of sculptures collected by Queen Beatrix) is interesting to visit. I will upload more of my photos of the palace and its surroundings. Your comments are very welcome.

A beautiful image of this historic building, immersed in a luxuriant park and a placid pond that creates an atmosphere of tranquility, the reflection is very beautiful. As always, your accompanying notes help understand the story behind the image. ciao Giangiorgio

Vincent, I suspect that, on a subliminal level, you'd love to live in this magnificent structure. Of course, it comes with a huge bonus - lots of nature that will satisfy your urge to wander. One more item - - - After reading Giangiorgio's comments, I took a closer look at the reflections. The ones of the building closest to those of the tree appear as if they were spliced on to the others. - - My best always, michael - - - - - - - -BTW . . . .I can't believe that this image drew only 23 views.

Hi Giangiorgio,

 

thank you for your friendly comments! The park actually interested me more than the palace, maybe not so surprising :) Kind regards, Vincent

Hi Michael,

 

thank you for your friendly words and for adding this photo to your favorites! Maybe you are right about me living there, although it would be mainly the park that 'satisfies my urge to wander'. I suspect what you mean by your comment on the reflections (the splicing) is caused by the shadowy parts of the palace breaking up the rhythm of the reflection. The image now has 33 views, which is still not much by any standard, but I don't worry about those numbers as I know they just depend on the amount of people who are able to see it (the number of views differs greatly between various uploads). You said earlier you wanted me to write a comment on a particular image. Let me know (via the forums?) which one(s) you mean. Kind regards, Vincent

Vincent, nice to see your bungalow. Kind regards, Franz

Hi Franz,

 

Ha ha ha! Remind me to invite you some time to have a cup of Darjeeling some time. Kind regards, Vincent

No coffee?

Coffee is so...common :)

Hi Frieder,

 

thank you for adding this photo to your favorites! Kind regards, Vincent

/:o) Snob!

A mighty good image you have here, Vincent! I agree with the comment of Giangiorgio Crisponi! My sincere compliments! Best regards! PDE