The Gardens of Het Loo Palace
A thank you to Miranda de Vries for the photos and information that we have allowed to realize this article
The Palace and its History
Palace Het Loo is located in the heart of the Netherlands, not far from Apeldoon. E ‘was reopened in 1984 after extensive renovations that sported the rooms in which they lived the Oranges in the last 300 years. For this reason the building has undergone many changes through many different owners over time.
In 1684, Wilhelm III bought the medieval hunting house “Het Oude Loo” and the surrounding buildings, land, forests and rivers, to make it a hunting estate worthy of the best royal European level. Being Wilhelm III and his wife Mary Stuart architecture enthusiasts and garden art, they decided to make a summer residence in which to entertain guests and hunt in the royal splendor.In 1686 the building was completed and in 1689 William and Mary became King and Queen of the Kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland and, for this, they decided to further enlarge the gardens, also adding four new halls at the Palace.After the death of William III, the Palace was used as a summer hunting lodge as other real.
The White Loo
In 1795, also the last Dutch Orange, Willem V, who left the Palace fell into disrepair. In 1806 the palace became the property of Louis Napoleon, who had been elected King of Holland by his brother Napoleon. Luigi did repaint the exterior of a light gray color that completely changed his appearance and the gardens had a baroque style of the seventeenth century and a romantic style landscape park around them.
The Return of the Oranges
In 1813, after the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Leipzig and spent several years in exile in England with his father, went back to the PalaceWilhelm I, William V heir,and in 1815 he decided to make a summer residence of the estate available to the Head of State.
In 1911, Queen Wilhelmina added a floor to the main building of the palace and some buildings on the east side that, to date, are used as offices. During the Second World War the building was occupied by the Germans and later Wilhelmina, returned to Het Loo, as a guest as her favorite hotel. After his abdication in 1948, the former queen retired to Het Loo and here died on November 28th, 1962.
The last Residents
From 1967 to 1975, Princess Margriet and Professor Pieter van Vollenhoven lived here with their four children. Every Christmas, the decorated table of Princess Margriet, is on show at the Palace Het Loo.
The Museum
In 1977 it was launched a radical renovation to transform the building into a museum bringing the estate to its former glory of the seventeenth century.
Were eliminated the buildings of the nineteenth and twentieth century and refurbished even the Baroque gardens.
The Museum was opened in 1984
The gardens
The Gardens of Het Loo Palace have been restored to be brought to its former glory as in the times of their creators Wilhelm III and Mary II Stuart.
From March to October it is possible admire the fountains that can throw fresh water into the sky thanks to the high groundwater level.
The sculptures of gods and goddesses of Greek mythology, representing the theme of flowering gardens and the transformation from dusty stretch of heath garden cared for and admired of today.
At the center is the statue of Venus, Goddess of Love.
The Canadian maple
On the lawn adjacent to the terrace it’s the Canadian maple, a tree with a exceptional story.This tree is part of a series of 12 that the Princess Juliana gave to his mother Queen Wilhelmina in memory of the time spent in Canada during the Second World War. From her house he had a special view on this tree, especially in the autumn, illuminated the gardens with incredible colors. In 1947, when it was planted, the tree was as big as a person of average stature and grew really fast, until, in the early twenty-first century, was weakened by a fungus. In 2012 it was drastically pruned and fortunately is possible still enjoy its beauty. The cuttings, taken from this same tree, were later “grown” in the Palace nursery and planted in the ground around the building to keep alive the symbol of Canada and of the past of this place.
Il Park of the Palace
The park is open all year and has an area of 650 hectares. And ‘ideal for walking and is near the Palace .
Originally the park was made to allow guests who were staying in the Royal Palace to relax .
There are, ponds, lakes, baths and much more.
Children under of 12 years old and people with disabilities can enter for free and for everyone else the ticket costs € 2
More info: www.kroondomeinhetloo.nl ( only dutch)
The park has eight trails of various lengths, 3 of which are also suitable for people in wheelchairs.
A personal annual subscription costs € 8.00 P.P.
You can buy from:
- Ticket of the Het Loo Palace (except Mondays)
- bookshop Nawijn en Polak (Marktplein 24, Apeldoorn)
- Plan C / Omnizorg (Stationsstraat 30, Apeldoorn)
- CODA Apeldoorn (VVV info point, Vosselmanstraat 299, Apeldoorn)
- Office of Het Loo Royal Estate (in the east wing of the Het Loo Palace – Koninklijk Park
Info
Koninklijk park 1
7315 JA Apeldoorn
email: info@paleishetloo.nl
Entrance:
Amersfoortseweg, Apeldoorn
Navigator: Apeldoorn 7313 AA
