Castle De Haar: The Netherlands' Most Enchanting Fairytale Fortress

Castle De Haar looks like it jumped straight out of a fairytale. It lies near Utrecht, and it makes a perfect day trip if you are staying nearby. Besides being a prominent historical place from the medieval ages, the castle regularly hosts a big fantasy-themed cosplay festival, Elfia, in April.

History of Castle De Haar

Its history dates back to 1391 when the De Haar family got it from Hendrik van Woerden. It remained in their ownership until 1440 when the last member of the family died and left zero offspring. It passed to another family of Zuylen. In 1482, there was a big fire, and the castle burned down, but later, in the 16th century, it was again rebuilt. Since 1641, the castle has started to slowly turn into ruins. The Zuylen family left it because the last member died without any children.

In 1887, Etienne Gustave Frédéric Baron van Zuylen van Nyevelt van de Haar, the grandson of Jean-Jacques, married Baroness Hélène de Rothschild, a member of the renowned Rothschild family. Upon inheriting the dilapidated castle in 1890, Etienne and his wife, Hélène, started the complete restoration, funded entirely by her family. They enlisted the famous architect Pierre Cuypers to oversee the ambitious rebuilding of the castle.

Architecture and Design

Castle De Haar consists of 200 rooms and 30 bathrooms, but only a few of the rooms on the ground and first floors are open to the public. In front of the castle, Cuypers placed a statue of himself. Inside, equipment included many modern gadgets, such as electrical lighting with a generator, central heating, and a modern kitchen with the most extensive set of copper pots and pans in the Netherlands. There is also one massive furnace around 6 meters long.

The interior is rich in ornaments and woodcarvings, and it resembles the interiors of Roman Catholic churches, especially the main hall. Decorations include some unique Rothchild collections, such as old porcelain from Japan and China or religious illustrations. Very popular among Japanese tourists is the carrier coach of the wife of a Japanese shōgun. There are only two of them, one in the castle and the other in Tokyo.

When you step inside the castle area, you will be taken away to the park designed by Hendrik Copijn. It spreads over a big land and features many waterworks and also a garden that looks like the one in Versailles. During WWII, the park and gardens were destroyed and used to grow vegetables and trees to light fires.

Famous Visitors

Strolling through the castle’s interior will convince you that the Van Zuylen family lived in luxury and appeared even more prominent than the Dutch royal family. The family has passed the ownership to the foundation Kasteel de Haar, but they have the right to stay there for one month of the year. It is usually in September, and they like to host lavish house parties. They bring a lot of famous and interesting people with them. Some of the previous guests included Coco Chanel, Maria Callas, Roger Moore, Gregory Peck, Yves Saint Laurent, Brigitte Bardot, and Joan Collins.

Useful Tips

The admission fee for one adult is 20 EUR, including a visit to the parks and gardens, but if you have Museumkaart, it is zero. If you only want to visit the parks, one adult ticket is 8 EUR, or it is free with Museumkaart.

You can reach the castle by bike, car, or bus. There is a parking lot for cars and bikes. Parking for vehicles is 7,50 EUR. It is around 40 minutes by car from Amsterdam Central Station. If you use public transport, take a train from the Amsterdam Central Station to Utrecht CS. Then, take the sprinter train from Utrecht to The Hague Central Station and get off at the Vleuten station. From there, bus 111 goes directly to the castle on weekends, every half hour. Or the bus 127 towards Breukelen, get off at stop Brink, Haarzuilens, and walk for 15 minutes. Check this 9292.nl site for more detailed information on timetables of public transport.

Cultural Events

As I mentioned, the castle hosts an Elf Fantasy Fair festival in April. It happens twice a year, in April at de Haar and later in September at Castle Arcen. The festival attracts around 27,000 visitors annually. The event is more of a mixture of different genres like fantasy, LARP, science fiction, manga, gothic, cosplay, and some historical touch points. It is not only a festival, but it also defines itself as a kingdom and has its flag, border, elections, and fantasy customs officers. Some of the previous guests included Terry Pratchett, Stanislav Ianevski, and Brian Muir.

I went to see Castle de Haar in early May 2018, and I do not remember a lot of details from that day anymore, but compared to some precious days of my stay, it was a nice, shiny day, an ideal day to spend in the beautiful area where you can rest and relax or picnic surrounded by medieval statues, green grass, and monumental medieval structures rising over the calm waters.