Elswout
Encyclopedia
Elswout is a historical buitenplaats
dating from the 19th century in a park by the same name in Haarlem
, Netherlands
.
), it is called the Marcelisvaart today after the rules that Marcelis drew up for the diggers and boatsmen on his property. Removing sand from the property was only halted in 1948 when the level of the garden was considered dangerously low by the water board
.
In the next century the garden was redesigned in the English style and had various owners until being bought by the Borski family in the 19th century.
The main building seen today was designed in Italian high renaissance style in 1883 by C Muysken for the rich banker Willem Borski III of the firm Wed. Willem Borski, but construction was stopped in 1884 when Borski died childless, and the house was never completed, remaining a folly until WWII when the German occupying forces put a provisional roof on the building for use as a garrison.
The park surrounding the main house contains various follies that are also protected in th heritage register, as are the gatekeeper's entrance, the orangerie, and the stables. Today there are plans to restore the building according to the original plans.
Today the park is open to the public and the Orangerie has a restaurant that can be rented for weddings and other events. It is managed by Staatsbosbeheer
.
Buitenplaats
A buitenplaats was a summer residence for rich townspeople in the Netherlands. During the Dutch Golden Age of the 17th century, many traders and city administrators in Dutch towns became very wealthy...
dating from the 19th century in a park by the same name in Haarlem
Haarlem
Haarlem is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland, the northern half of Holland, which at one time was the most powerful of the seven provinces of the Dutch Republic...
, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
.
History
The Elswout site was a buitenplaats for a long time before the current construction began. The original house (of which nothing remains) was barely finished in 1635 before being sold to Gabriel Marcelis, an Amsterdam arms merchant for the King of Denmark. He used it as a summer home while selling the sand to be shipped by boat to Amsterdam for construction. By removing the sand in the dunes on his property, he was able to lay out a garden in the French style while financing this from the profits on the sand. Though the "sand vaart" canal still exists that was dug by the original owner from the grounds to the houtvaart (and from thence to the LeidsevaartLeidsevaart
The Leidsevaart is a canal between the cities of Haarlem and Leiden in the Netherlands. It was dug in 1657, making it one of the oldest canals in the Netherlands. It was the major means of transport between Leiden and Haarlem for almost two centuries until the rail connection was established in...
), it is called the Marcelisvaart today after the rules that Marcelis drew up for the diggers and boatsmen on his property. Removing sand from the property was only halted in 1948 when the level of the garden was considered dangerously low by the water board
Water board
A water board is a regional organisation that has very different functions from one country to another, ranging from flood control, water resources management, water charging and financing, and bulk water supply.-Philippines:The...
.
In the next century the garden was redesigned in the English style and had various owners until being bought by the Borski family in the 19th century.
The main building seen today was designed in Italian high renaissance style in 1883 by C Muysken for the rich banker Willem Borski III of the firm Wed. Willem Borski, but construction was stopped in 1884 when Borski died childless, and the house was never completed, remaining a folly until WWII when the German occupying forces put a provisional roof on the building for use as a garrison.
The park surrounding the main house contains various follies that are also protected in th heritage register, as are the gatekeeper's entrance, the orangerie, and the stables. Today there are plans to restore the building according to the original plans.
Today the park is open to the public and the Orangerie has a restaurant that can be rented for weddings and other events. It is managed by Staatsbosbeheer
Staatsbosbeheer
Staatsbosbeheer is a Dutch organization founded in 1899 to control and conserve Dutch nature reserves.Staatsbosbeheer currently oversees over 250.000 hectares of land in the Netherlands. Usually this land is open to the public for recreational purposes, but restrictions often apply...
.