Gerben started working as a self-employed construction worker in 1998 and was occasionally hired by De Haar for odd jobs. In early 2000 he even supported the Technical Department one day a week. However, back then the castle was not as well-oiled a machine as it is today. He decided to focus on his own business. However, last year he received a message in the group app of The Half of De Haar castle run from the Head of Human Resources of De Haar. "Whether we still knew someone for the position of Caretaker. Maybe I would like that, I said. And look where I am now over a year later."

Gerben tries to do simple and complicated jobs and live up to the title House Master as best he can. "Although I don't consider myself a 'master.' Things that break simply have to be fixed. I want to keep the castle tidy and maintain the ins and outs of the castle until I retire. I want to enjoy working here, with nice colleagues."

Rich history, deep connection

Meanwhile, Gerben can already write quite a book about his memories of Castle de Haar.
He came into the world at Brink 13b and moved to Thematerweg when he was eighteen. As a child he built cabins in the park and regularly got into mischief. He and his friends liked to take it out on the forester! Gerben also played regularly with Vanessa, the fourth daughter of Baron Thierry. Every year she joined Gerben's class during the month of September. Gerben and a friend who lived in the Stable Square cycled home with Vanessa.

The puch of Brigitte Bardot

They loved playing in the park and riding the white Puch that Brigitte Bardot left behind at De Haar. "We used to regularly cruise through the park, something you will never see now, of course!" Brigitte Bardot was just one of the many celebrities who appeared at the castle. "I'll never forget Roger Moore standing next to me at the bakery. Back then that was quite normal in Haarzuilens, we were used to celebrities coming. That was part of the castle."
He also thought the Christmas celebrations at the castle were very special. "We then received a present personally from the baron and were allowed to play games in the castle. In winter we skated on the moat and ponds around the castle and then climbed into the castle on our irons."

When he was 22, he began dating his current girlfriend Sandra. She was born and raised at Stalplein 1 with her parents, who took care of the baron's horses. "At one point the office of De Haar was moved to Stable Square 1. At that time, I myself adjusted the floor for it and removed the fireplace. Under the fireplace was my father-in-law's bookkeeping! It was a whole bunch of receipts, from Sandra's birth year: 1967. It was funny that exactly from the week of her birth in October there were no receipts at all."

Never a dull moment...

Gerben feels privileged to have seen the castle develop, in the past but also now as janitor. "Very few people can still imagine what it was like when the castle still belonged to the baron. The Stable Square was the playground of many a child. There were horses and dogs belonging to the residents. There was always something to do back then. You could even collect your fishing license from Tonia de Greef back then and then you were allowed to fish in the moat for another year."
Meanwhile, the castle has been transformed from the baron's house, to a professional and dynamic company with over 200 volunteers and on-call workers and more than 35 permanent employees.
Gerben enjoys doing fun jobs one day a week with two retired volunteers and being able to count on the support of the guys from Ferm Werk every week. They take care of many daily and necessary chores.

"When you work here, you sometimes forget how special it is here. It's dynamic and modern and it looks incredibly clean now. The work done during the restoration is outstanding. The castle suits me very well. When I come back after vacations I really look forward to it. You never know what you'll find here: there's never a dull moment at De Haar castle."