Drakensteyn Castle

Drakensteyn Castle is a castle and estate located near Lage Vuursche, municipality of Baarn.

In 1360 the first written story is about a homestead Drakesteyn. In 1385 it was Frederick of Drakenburg who was bequeathed to Drakesteyn.

The ancient history of Drakensteyn is closely linked to that of Ridderhofstede Drakenburg, which was located nearby and was demolished in the 19th century.

In 1634 Ernst van Reede became the owner of Drakensteyn. His son Gerard had a new, completely symmetrical octagonal house built in 1640, possibly after a design by Jacob van Campen. The house is recognized as a knight's court town and Gerard is knighted. In those days, the village of Lage Vuursche was also built. Knight Gerard had a church built - with a rectory -, a school, a mill and an inn.

In the Golden Age, a large number of castles and country houses were rebuilt and built in the Laagte van Pijnenburg, such as Soestdijk - the later Soestdijk Palace -, Castle de Hooge Vuursche, De Eult, Pijnenburg, Eeuwijckshoeve.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, the castle changed hands several times. In 1780, a renovation took place that changed the appearance of the house: the Ionic columns were removed. In 1807 Drakensteyn became the property of Mr. Paulus Wilhelmus Bosch, mayor of Utrecht. The house remained in the family for 150 years, until it was sold by Frederik Lodewijk Bosch van Drakestein to Princess Beatrix in 1959. She had the castle restored and moved in in 1963. After becoming queen, she moved to The Hague in 1981. Since then, Drakensteyn has been used as an outdoor and guest house.

In 2006 it was announced that Drakensteyn would be renovated to make the castle habitable again. A few meters are being pulled and it is being fully secured and prepared for the 21st century. This message fed the rumors that the abdication of Queen Beatrix is imminent, but the RVD did not want to comment on this.

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