Soestdijk Palace

Geschiedenis

Soestdijk Palace is a former palace of the Dutch Royal Family. It consists of a central block and two wings.Although named after the village of Soestdijk, which is largely in the municipality of Soest, the Soestdijk Palace is just north of the border in the municipality of Baarn in the province of Utrecht. It was the home for over six decades of Queen Juliana and her husband, Prince Bernhard until their deaths in 2004.HistoryIn the middle of the seventeenth century the Country house on the Zoestdijk was built for Cornelis de Graeff. After the rampjaar his son Jacob de Graeff sold it to Stadhouder William III. Then the palace originally started as a hunting lodge that was built between 1674 and 1678 by Maurits Post, who was also involved in building two other royal palaces, Huis ten Bosch Palace and Noordeinde Palace. William left the Netherlands in 1688 to reside in London as William III of England.During the French invasion in 1795, the palace was seized as a spoil of war and turned into an inn for French troops. When Louis Bonaparte became King of Holland, he took possession of it and had it extended and refurnished.

"Paleis Soestdijk staat aan de start van een nieuwe fase in haar ruim 350-jarig bestaan. Het landgoed wordt de komende jaren grondig gerenoveerd en gerestaureerd en klaargemaakt voor een nieuwe bestemming.Het paleis is gesloten voor publiek ter voorbereiding van de restauratie maar het park wordt incidenteel geopend, veelal in de zomer en bijvoorbeeld tijdens Open Monumentendag. Het blijft ook mogelijk om de Oranjerie en de diverse buitenlocaties te huren voor een particuliere of zakelijke bijeenkomst."