The Baroness tells
'My great-grandfather, Etienne van Zuylen, had a dream. It was more than a dream. It was an obsession to have the family estate, then and still known as Kasteel de Haar, rebuilt to its former glory. It took 20 years to realize this dream and with the indispensable collaboration of perhaps the best neo-Gothic architect of his time, Dr. P.J.H. Cuypers, the work was completed just before the outbreak of World War I.
After Etienne's death in 1934, my grandfather and then my father took on the responsibility of maintaining the castle in the spirit in which it was intended, namely both as a monument to family ties to the province of Utrecht dating back to the 13th century, but also as a home -albeit an extravagant one- for family and friends.
When the estate miraculously escaped the damage caused by the devastation of World War II, my grandfather - especially in those changing times - considered the moment to open his property with castle, gardens and park to the public. However, under the condition, that for one month a year, usually in September, the house and gardens could be used exclusively by the family. Opening to the public was a wise decision, because it allowed the castle to become one of the 100 most visited Dutch monuments of history and art.'
Baroness Alexandra van Zuylen van Nijevelt van de Haar (2011)