Kasteel Keukenhof

English translation

The text above is the record as published by the Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed, in Dutch. The English below is a machine translation made by TreeAlive, not by the Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed; it has not been checked by a person. Where the two differ, the original is the record. Report a translation error: privacy@treealive.com

Description

MAIN BUILDING (Kasteel Keukenhof). The 17th-century, cellared residence was converted in 1861/62 according to designs by architect Elie Saraber into a neo-Gothic castle. The neo-Gothic character is determined by the addition of various types of towers to the original rectangular building block, which can still be clearly recognised by the hipped roof covered with dampened Dutch tiles and the four mortared corner chimneys. The towers have differently shaped spires, all of which are covered with slate in Dutch bond and crowned by a finial. A round arch frieze runs under all roof cornices. Against the original 17th-century west facade, an avant-corps has been built, consisting of three towers with the entrance section centrally placed. In the middle stands the highest, projecting tower crowned by a spire in the form of a curved hipped roof with two roof dormers at the front and one on each side under an overhanging triangular shield crowned with finials. This tower is flanked by two smaller towers, of which the right tower is crowned by a tent roof and the left spire is identical in form to the middle spire. In the middle tower is the entrance door set in a natural stone rustication frame with a curved pediment flanked by a window likewise framed with natural stone blocks. Before the door a sandstone platform with masonry balustrades on either side crowned with natural stone vases. In the first storey at the side of the tower is a window with a French balcony. The facade arrangement of the avant-corps consists of cross windows with diamond-shaped glazing bar tracery and shutters. During the 1923 conversion, only the walls between the towers received different windows; the open verandas and bay windows were also removed. In their place, multi-pane windows were added on the right side and three long rectangular windows placed side by side on the left. The south facade has centrally a square tower projection, located on the original central axis of the 17th-century house. On either side of this projection a window bay, consisting of a multi-pane window with French balcony on the ground floor, a T-window with shutters on the first floor and a roof dormer. The projection is erected on a rectangular ground plan under a tapered hexagonal needle spire and on the corners two round towers crowned by a round needle spire. The tower wall is provided with one window bay formed by double garden doors with side and top lights furnished with diamond-shaped glazing bar division, above which double multi-pane doors to a balcony with a scalloped edge and an iron balustrade resting on corbels, and on the third storey a double round-arched window with shutters. In the corner towers two round-arched windows with shutters placed one above the other have been installed. The facades on the north and east sides are five window bays wide and two storeys high. On the northeast corner stands a round tower with round-arch windows furnished with shutters under a round needle spire. Immediately beside the tower (east facade) is a rectangular, single-storey projection (scullery) furnished with small round-arched windows just below the roof line. The projection has a roof terrace along which runs a balustrade. A double balcony door on the first floor provides access to the terrace. The remaining four bays are filled by 19th-century cross windows with leaded glass and half shutters. In the second bay is a door with fanlight. A sundial is fixed to the facade with the words 'EX inderen' painted on it (Exinde ren(ovatum) meaning subsequently renewed what was formerly defaced). In the roof shield is a roof dormer with multi-pane window above which a small bell. The cornice-topped facade on the north side is interrupted in the middle by a spout gable under a tile-covered gabled roof. The window bay is formed by a double glazed door, above which a floor-level window set in a natural stone frame, a window with a standing central mullion and in the ridge an oeil de boeuf. The two window bays on either side consist on the ground floor of multi-pane windows and on the first floor of floor-level windows with French balcony. Directly beside the house on the northwest side stands 'the elephant', a severely dilapidated ornament of brick and cement with four buttresses. It may have served as a pergola with veranda. From this veranda there are views of the approach road and of a vista. In the INTERIOR the 17th-century layout of the house has been largely preserved, consisting of a long central axis (east-west) with rooms on either side; partly 17th-century decoration namely the wooden coffered ceilings, the wall lining and in the Great Salon a veined wooden fireplace on which the initials HVH and JG - Hendrik van Hoven and Johanna Groenhout - are inscribed. The 18th century brought panelled doors and matching wainscotings; as well as richly decorated chimneypieces, divided into three parts consisting of firebox, mirror and painting, among others by Van Beyeren and Benjamin Cuyp; in the dining room is a Rococo chimneypiece from 1772 by Dirk van der Aa; in the Great Hall is a ceiling painting from 1843 by Joh. Stortenbeker and in the Red Salon a grisaille painting in the style of Jacob de Wit from 1850; the tower room, the so-called antique room, is furnished as a Chinese display room with much porcelain and gilt leather wallpaper, the latter probably from elsewhere; also important is the kitchen with its large stove under the chimney, the pump and rainwater tanks and wall cupboards, all belonging to the original 18th-century furnishings

Valuation

MAIN BUILDING (De Keukenhof) of general importance:

- on account of the 17th-century house preserved in its original condition, which in the 19th century was converted by architect Elie Saraber in neo-Gothic style;

- as a representative and fairly rare example of a building from the oeuvre of architect Saraber;

- on account of the 17th-century spatial layout which has remained virtually intact;

- on account of the 18th-century furnishings of the interior and the paintings from the mid-19th century;

- on account of its characteristic location within the garden and park layout;

- on account of its functional-spatial relationship with the other components of the country estate.