Castle de Haar: the largest in the Netherlands

Castle de Haar is the largest castle in the Netherlands , as you will discover when you visit this beautiful monument. You can find it a short distance from the city of Utrecht and just over half an hour by car from Amsterdam.

With a typical fairy tale castle look, Castle de Haar features round towers that are topped by a peaked roof . However, what is most striking, in addition to its beautiful architecture, is its exceptional state of preservation.

Origins of Haar Castle

De Haar is one of the most important castles in all of Europe, and has belonged to the Van Zuylen family since its construction. The first works of this historic castle date back to the 13th century , and show that it was already a large house or mansion.

As we mentioned, its promoters were members of the Van Zuylen family. This was a Belgian-Dutch noble family that has preserved it from its origins to the present day.

However, this family was not always able to give him the care he deserves. Thus, in the 18th century the house fell into a process of abandonment and deterioration that was accentuated during the 19th century, at which time it was almost completely destroyed. Oddly enough, a wedding was instrumental in saving Chateau de Haar from abandonment.

It was the link between Etienne van Zuylen van Nyevelt van de Haar, heir to the family, and Helene de Rothschild. She belonged to the famous multi-million dollar German-Jewish Rothschild banking family .

The union meant a great economic improvement for the van Zuylen family, which allowed the reconstruction of the family castle at the end of the 19th century. These works meant starting a completely new project, which resulted in the current castle of Haar.

The improvement in the economic position of the family that owned it allowed the same architect responsible for the Rijksmuseum and the Central Station, the architect Pierre Cuypers, to be entrusted with the castle project. The reconstruction took just over 20 years , and was one of the most important projects of its time.

Visit to the Chateau de Haar

In the reconstruction, the complex was intervened in its entirety. That is, the castle both inside and outside, the gardens and the chapel. In this way, the place became famous during the 1960s, since Baroness Marie Helene van Zuylen used to spend her summers there . The place is organized as follows:

The center hall

Upon entering the castle, you will arrive at the central or main hall . This space was previously the old patio of the house, and it was covered during the reform of the castle. It is 18 meters high and, at first glance, seems to combine the style of a Gothic cathedral and a luxurious hotel.

And it is that the castle of Haar was conceived with the intention of holding parties, and this hall was built as a space to receive the guests of the numerous meetings that took place in the complex. Here they could have a drink or rest while waiting for their luggage, or simply wait for their transport to arrive.

We can also highlight other rooms in the castle, such as the main room, the dining room or the ballroom, another very important place for the festivities that took place in this castle. In addition, it has 200 bedrooms on the first floor , all with a different decoration from each other, and no more and no less than 30 bathrooms.

Stables and chapel

The old stables are next to the entrance door of the castle, made up of two towers and a bridge. Currently, these stables are occupied by the museum’s ticket offices and cafeteria .

The terrace of the cafeteria is one of the most interesting places to end or start the visit, since its tables in the sun will surely be to your liking. Reconstruction works included the Slotkapel chapel . In a Gothic-Renaissance style, it preserves some of the old walls, as well as the Van Zuylen family crypt.

Gardens and parks

We owe the design of open spaces, such as gardens and parks, to the architect Cuypers and the landscape designer Hendrik Copijn. The gardens had to be at the same level of beauty and splendor as the castle.

For this reason, more than 50 hectares were designed where you can walk through ponds or orchards and discover various French-style gardens. Special mention should be made of the Rose Garden , which has more than 69 different types of roses.

In short, if you visit the Netherlands, the castle of Haar is an almost mandatory stop, especially if you are interested in historical-cultural tourism. This visit has many corners of great beauty, and all of them have an important story behind them.