Huis Bergh in ‘s-Heerenberg, the Netherlands, is the ancestral castle of the Counts van den Bergh. It is one of the largest Dutch castles. I visited the castle with friends a few weeks ago. The medieval castle is surrounded by a moat and partly by an embankment. There isn’t that much known about the building […]
Once a Royal Castle – Beverweerd
Who sees this tiny castle now wouldn’t think it actually was once a real royal castle. Beverweerd Castle (also Beverweert) on the edge of the village of Werkhoven, Province of Utrecht, The Netherlands, does however have a long history. In the two pictures above on the left you see the castle, on the two pictures […]
New Royal Postcards (1)
Any royal postcard collectors among my visitors? I just have a small collection of cards, either with royals (old and new) or palaces/castles on it. My mother gave me these postcards recently, likely dating from the 1950s to the 1970s. The first black-white postcard shows the castles of King Ludwig II of Bavaria. The poststamps […]
Royal and Noble Clothes on the Catwalk
I must admit, I hadn’t been at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam for probably 20 years, and couldn’t even remember anymore what it looked like. After the renovation that was finished three years ago it was really about time to visit again. I didn’t find the time a few weeks ago, but an old friend of […]
What happened to Count Adolf?
Graaf Adolf is gebleven (Count Adolf stayed behind) in Friesland in de slag, (in battle in Frisia) zijn ziel in ‘t eeuwig leven (His soul in the eternal life) verwacht de jongste dag. (awaits the final judgement) These are the last lines of the fourth verse of the Dutch national anthem (there are fifteen verses, just for your information). Who is this Count Adolf? He was born in Dillenburg on […]
Maria Louise Year 2015 (2)
How to open a year to commemorate one of the grandest women in Frisian history? As written earlier 2015 is the The Year of Maria Louise. The official opening of the year on 9 April 2015 took place exactly 250 years after her death in 1765. Maria Louise Princess of Orange and of Nassau, born […]
The Civil Wedding of Félix and Claire
Photos and copyright: Gabi (not to be published elsewhere without permission) As I promised I would have a few pictures of the civil wedding of Prince Félix of Luxembourg and Claire Lademacher on 17 September at Königstein im Taunus, Germany. The couple had chosen to get married at the Villa Rothschild Kempinsky by the mayor […]
Queen Máxima opened the Fries Museum
On 13 September I went to see Queen Máxima of the Netherlands opening the Fries Museum in Leeuwarden, The Netherlands. I have visited the old museum several times, so I was quite interested to see what it looks like now. Thanks to a huge legacy of architect Abe Bonnema the museum could build a new […]