Off limits….
In the Netherlands a “Buitenplaats” is a country estate used as a summer home for the wealthy from the city. From the end of the sixteenth century they invested into estates in the countryside to avoid the stench, the plague and the crowds in the city. Originally these were simple farmhouses with a more luxurious room for the landlord. In the 17th century the increasingly rich dutch families started to construct luxurious country estates with extensive gardens. A tenant continued to work the land, providing fruit and vegetables, or serving as a driver for the guests. Therefore, next to the mansion, there were usually farmhouses, stables and buildings for the employees.
The carriage house of Nieuw Leeuwenhorst
At the end of the 18th century many country estates became too expensive for the owners and were abandoned, converted into farms or sometimes hotels.
The entrance to Nieuw Leeuwenhorst
The estates were usually built in scenic areas easily accessible from the city. Many were outside the Hague. The owners then remained close to the court. Fortunately many of the abandoned estates were bought by associations interested in environmental protection. In the heavily urbanized areas they are frequently the last green barrier against further development. One area popular for the construction of these estates was north of the Hague along the dunes extending parallel to the coast.
One of the alleys in Nieuw Leeuwenhorst
The Nieuw Leeuwenhorst estate is just outside the little town of Noordwijk. Originally the estate covered an area of 38 hectares. In 1882 the owner had ordered the construction of a representative partly neo-gothic neo-classic mansion. It sat on a raised terrace with a stone balustrade, had two towers and on both sides a staircase into the garden. In addition, a hunter‘s house and a house for the carriages was built.
The former anti-tank ditch
From all this only the house for the carriages remains. In 1943 the German occupation force started the construction of the so called Atlantic Wall intended to protect the coast from invasion. The mansion had to give way for a tank ditch. Bunkers were constructed in the garden. When the estate was bought by a nature conservancy organization the ditch was converted into a pond and part of the bunkers removed. The mansion and other buildings were never rebuilt.
WWII german bunker in the park
Next door were the estates of Dyckenburg, Hofwijk and Vijverbeek. Only Dijkenburg remains. After a fire in 1925 it was rebuilt and housed german military, nuns, a hotel, a camping and later a dance club. Eventually it was bought by an investor and fundamentally restored. When you walk past the mansion and the extensive gardens including private tennis court you wonder who can afford a place like this in a country where a townhouse with a tiny 100 sqm garden sets you back almost a million.
View of the estate of Dyckenburg from Nieuw Leeuwenhorst
Internet has the answer. In the year 2000 the place was bought by businessman Harry Vink. The sanding and paint work alone required an effort of 10.000 hours. But Harry Vink died in 2016 and Dyckenburg was for sale again. The asking price was a mere 2.95 million. Not a lot for 925 m2 of living space and 11 rooms. When I walk past the new owner in his big electric SUV leaves the estate and blasts the cyclists out of his way with his horn.
The estate of Dyckenburgh
Noordwijk is known as a seaside resort which is in particular popular with the student crowd from Leiden. But I am heading towards Noordwijk-Binnen, the old village, which has grown out of proportion by the addition of neighborhoods of big apartment buildings. The few men in the streets, who unload their shopping bags from the car or go for a walk with their dogo argentino are pot-bellied, in slippers and jogging pants.
The new neighbourhoods of Noordwijk
The new and old parts of Noordwijk-Binnen are separated be the estate of Calorama. The mansion is hidden behind an enormous earth wall but also here, the stables and house of the coachman are visible behind the entrance gate. That will change. In his last will, the last resident Hendrik Maximiliaan Baron Taets van Amerongen van Renswoude had determined that the estate should be preserved in its entirety as a cultural-historical and natural monument. He created a foundation to realize that. After a complete restoration of mansion and park it will be open to the public for guided tours and events.
The carriage house and entrance of Calorama
The town-center of Noordwijk-Binnen has retained its historic character. Old houses built from brick with their traditional dutch gables line the main street. In summer the street is shaded by the typical espalier trees, but now, in early spring, the facades are clearly visible. The two St. Jeroen churches tower above the low houses. Like most in the Netherlands, the two churches are closed to visitors outside mass hours. In the 14th century Noordwijk became a place of pilgrimage because a skull was found which supposedly was of the Scottish Benedictine Jeroen van Noordwijk. He had built a chapel and did missionary work. In 856 he was captured by the Normans, tortured and beheaded. The estate of Calorama supposedly was the site where Jeroen lost his life in 856. A route along the sights of Noordwijk binnen can be found at https://www.noordwijk.info/uploads/media/584964290a35b/nooit-verwacht-noordwijk.pdf?v9
The older St. Jeroen church
Voorstraat, the main street of old Noordwijk
The market square of Noordwijk
A square with more espalier trees forms the town center. It still preserves the two water pumps which served as the water source for the inhabitants until a central water supply was built. The middle of the square houses a little concert pavilion. The concerts have given way to parking cars. Close to the main square are two traditional hotels. Unlike similar establishments along the beach they have not been enlarged out for proportion for tourists but have retained their old-fashioned charm. Unfortunately their restaurants are both closed and do not even offer a takeaway coffee. I find one in a fast-food restaurant in the shopping street behind the church and sit down on the stairs of the concert pavilion. To avoid corona contacts, they have removed all the park benches. While enjoying my coffee I can wonder why in the garden joining the market square the owners have placed two life size bronze statues of giraffes.
One of the traditional hotels in Noordwijk
What a pity that this nice terrace is closed
The giraffes in the private garden next to the market square
There is another large estate east of Noordwijk binnen called Offem. The owner is the count of Limburg-Stirum, who prefers to have privacy. To maintain his estate he has sold a part of the park and an investor has built villas for rich people on it.
Newly built villas outside Noordwijk
The estate itself is not accessible and I have to walk around the perimeter of 30 ha of neglected park. At least I can have a look at another carriage house at one of the entrances. When I finally arrive at the diagonal corner of the park the path is blocked. They have built a new bridge, which looks finished but probably they still wait for some official to hold a speech and open it. There is no way to climb over the fences. I try another path but it ends at a motorway. So I have to retrace my steps and walk another 2 km around the whole estate of count Limburg-Stirum to come to the other side of the blocked bridge.
The carriage house of Offem
The path along the perimeter of Offem which ended at the closed bridge
The ecological connection zone
The area between the northern side of the estate of Offem and the highway to the beach has been filled with another housing development. Halfway between the houses I pass a strip of low scrub with a big sign. They call this an “ecologic connection zone”. Since the big block of houses separates the last remaining nature reserves they expect this narrow strip will reestablish the connection. To me it looks like a lame excuse for covering more and more of green with concrete.
Bulb fields outside Noordwijk
Noordwijk is also one of the centers of the dutch flower bulb industry. Already in the 19th century the sandy ground behind the coastal dunes proved perfect for growing herbs and flowers. Soon thje town had 250 flower bulb growers. Mainly tulips, daffodils and gladioli were grown. After the last houses I walk between fields of flowers. The air is filled with fragrance. However, the nice display of colors is deceptive. The bulb industry is an ecologic catastrophe. These mono-cultures only grow under the protection of chemicals. Pesticides, fungicides, herbicides and fertilizers have to be used and diffuse into the ground or are even carried away by the constant wind. Some websites maintain that the flower fields are an important breeding ground for birds like Gray Partridge, Yellow Wagtail, Skylark, Lapwing or Oystercatcher. I did not see or hear any. They would not have any protection and be poisoned anyway.
The trail rejoins forest and I arrive at yet another estate, Klein Leeuwenhorst. The forest is full of the twittering of birds. The mansion is visible from my path and the gates are open. I do not see a no-entry sign and ask a woman who comes to the road pulling a garbage bin. No, unfortunately this estate also is privately owned. I cast a last look at the lovely mansion built in 1858. Maybe I was talking to the owner, Alexandra van den Bosch van Heeckeren van Brandsenburg, who lives there with her family. The family of her daughter Adeline Evelein de Vos van Steenwijk lives in the stables, which were converted into a residence as well. The Klein Leeuwenhorst mansion is located in the middle of 30 hectares of forest. The total estate with various houses, farms, meadows, bulb land and forest counts 100 hectares. Most of it is accessible for visitors.
Klein Leeuwenhorst
You can ponder about the difference between families having to share a 50 sqm apartment and those owning a mansion in the middle of a park of 300000 sqm. However, in this densely populated area these parks and estates were only preserved because they were owned by people who maintained their extensive property. And with their wealth they also had and have the right connections to get done what they want. Without them the mushrooming of development would not have spared the last refuges for plants, wildlife and peace. Publicly owned nature reserves exist under the constant danger of further development in the form of vacation parks, parking lots for visitors, adventure playgrounds for kids, team building, paint ball, bungy jumping, abseiling or climbing activity sites for adults. These places remain untouched. Their birds will not have to swallow the cigarette butts of visitors, their mushrooms will not be flattened by careless footsteps, their flowers will not be plugged by greedy hands and their green will not be disfigured by discarded candy wrapper plastic. They still keep the stench, the plague and the crowds of the city at bay.
The porters house of Klein Leeuwenhorst
Link to the previous walk
