Quiet autumn morning in the park of Groeneveld Castle by Jeroen de Jongh Photography

About "Quiet autumn morning in the park of Groeneveld Castle"

by Jeroen de Jongh Photography

About the artwork

Groeneveld Castle is an estate in the municipality of Baarn. It is used as an "Outpost for town and country" by the Forestry Commission. A long driveway from the Amsterdamsestraatweg forms the visual axis of the estate. This line of sight runs via the hallway on the ground floor to approximately two kilometres in the woods behind the castle. In the past the line of sight even extended to Monnikenberg in the direction of Hilversum.

In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, it was customary for wealthy Amsterdammers to purchase a country house where they could relax during the summer. Often these estates were situated on the border of sand and peat soil. The estates in 't Gooi ('s-Graveland), along the Vecht and at the inner edge of the dunes (Keukenhof) are examples of this.

The estate around the castle is about 130 hectares and is managed by Staatsbosbeheer. The park of Groeneveld Castle was laid out in the Dutch Baroque style, which is characterised by strict geometric shapes and imposing driveways.

When the English landscape style became popular in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the park was transformed. Water features, hills, winding paths and tree sections were laid out. After 1830 in particular, the landscape style was perfected at Groeneveld. An ice house was also built. This still exists and is now inhabited by big-eared bats.

After the garden had been neglected for decades, it was restored at the end of the seventies by Michael van G