Dome of Stoop

The dome was built in 1840 in neoclassical style by landscape architect J.D. Zocher jr. The commission came from the Amsterdam banker J.B. Stoop. He was the owner of several heathlands in the vicinity of Zeist, where he had planted new forests. At a high location, amidst those new forests, his dream estate was to be built.

Landscape architect J.D. Zocher jr. received the commission but did not go beyond the construction of a tea pavilion. Due to various practical concerns, the plans for a main house did not go through. However, the dome still stands and is known as the Koepel van Stoop.

The spacious, curved access paths to the dome were intended as a driveway to the planned main house. In addition to the tea pavilion, the banker had landscape architect Zocher create a landscape park with a hunting lodge, the current Berghuisje. Stoop himself ultimately moved to Zeist, where his new estate Molenbosch was established on Driebergseweg.

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