Speaking engagements Castle de Haar

History
On the spot where Castle de Haar now stands, there was already a building at the end of the 12th century (between 1100 and 1200). So that's over 900 years ago! It was built on higher ground, which in the Middle Ages was called Hara or Haru. The inhabitants liked this place, because they did not get their feet wet and they had a good view of the surroundings. We actually still use that name Hara: De Haar. You also always sayópthe hair because it was higher up than the surrounding area. So has nothing to do with the hair on your head!

First version of the castle
First, a wooden tower was built on a round hill with a moat around it. In 1250 or so, the wooden tower was torn down and a stone tower was built. Around it they built a high stone wall for safety. In the tower they could live but also take shelter when danger threatened.

Lords of the Hair
Only rich and important families could build such a strong stone house. Not surprisingly, the inhabitants of the first castle, the Lords of de Haar, were rich and powerful.

In 1446, the residential tower came into the hands of the rich and powerful van Zuylen family and grew into one of the largest castles in the Netherlands (A drawing of the castle in the 16th century can be seen on the PowerPoint). This is what Castle de Haar looked like in the 16th century (between 1500 and 1600). Look at the drawing. What do you see? (A wooden bridge, entrance, towers, moat).

Unfortunately, in the later centuries there were no more van Zuylens who wanted to inhabit the castle. It wasn't very pretty anymore either, as the castle had been attacked and destroyed several times in the Middle Ages. The castle became empty and slowly became a picturesque ruin. Just look at this picture. Over a hundred years ago, in the year 1890, Baron Etienne van Zuylen van Nijevelt inherited the ruin from his father. He was very interested in the castle. The baron wanted to go through life as an important man. He dealt with the most famous and wealthy people from Brussels and Paris and considered it an honor to belong to such an old Dutch family of nobility. He wanted to show that he was important and of course an old family castle was part of that.

In 1887, Etienne married Hélène de Rothschild. She was one of the wealthiest women in Europe at the time. Although she did not belong to an old noble family, but was in a sense Nouveau Riche (new rich), Etienne, with his big plans to refurbish the ruin, could not have found a better woman. In 1890 they went together to have a look at the ruin.

Pierre Cuypers
They decided to breathe new life into the ruin. To do so, they engaged the then already famous Dutch architect Pierre Cuypers. You may not know him by name, but you probably know his buildings! The Rijksmuseum and Central Station in Amsterdam were designed by him, as were about 80 Catholic churches. He also restored many buildings.

The rebuilding
What did Cuypers do with the Haar? He looked very closely at how the castle looked in the Middle Ages, leaving everything that was still there. Even the pentagonal foundation and the walls that were still standing, the openings of the windows are still in the same place as they were in the Middle Ages, the spaces in the basement, say the cellar of the castle, have remained the same and even the towers he has kept in the base. But Cuypers also added things. He made the low weather wall at the front of the castle higher than it was before, made a canopy over the courtyard (what is now the Main Hall) and turned a low tower into a very tall tower.

The family never really planned to live at Castle de Haar all year round, but they did want to show their friends and acquaintances how beautiful the castle was, so every year in September they came to vacation at the castle with a lot of friends and acquaintances from the highest circles in all luxury. Therefore, it had to be equipped with all kinds of conveniences. Electric light was installed, there was hot and cold running water, every bedroom had its own bathing facility, there was a low-pressure electricity heating system that could heat the entire castle right down to the servants' quarters, and very early on there was an elevator and a Turkish bath. The great thing is, everything except the elevator and Turkish bath can still be found in the castle!

Thus, in twenty years, the ruin was rebuilt by Cuypers into one of the most beautiful castles in the Netherlands. In 1912, it was approximately finished. A special castle, not only because of its architectural style (neo-Gothic) but also certainly because of the family that lived there one month a year.

September Month
The children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren of Etienne and Hélène lived at Castle de Haar every September until 2006. During this famous month of September guests came from all over the world! People of nobility and from royal houses (a cousin of Queen Elizabeth of England!) and important gentlemen from politics, important businessmen but also writers and artists like Coco Chanel and Maria Callas. Not to mention real Hollywood stars as well. Actors such as Roger Moore (James Bond) and Brigitte Bardot have been to Kasteel de Haar, as you now know Enzo Knol, Boaz or K3! They ate in the dining room and liked to hold masked balls.

Would you enjoy living in Castle de Haar once a year?

Visiting the castle
Nowadays, Kasteel de Haar is a museum that you can visit almost every day of the year. You can walk through the beautiful gardens, have a picnic on the picnic meadow and you can also actually enter the castle and experience what it's like to be a baron or baroness and live at the castle one month a year. You can also get married at Kasteel de Haar. In addition, a number of events are organized at Kasteel de Haar, very nice to visit, such as the Country & Christmas Fair and Elfia.
You must be curious about the rooms in the castle, check out the pictures.