Elswout

In the Frans Hals Museum 17th-century depictions of Elswout by Gerrit Berckheyde and Jan van der Heyden are on display.

Though the still existing "sand vaart" canal was originally constructed for Carl du Moulin, it is called the Marcelisvaart today after the rules that Marcelis drew up for the diggers and boatsmen on his property.

In 1805 the neglected estate was bought by the broker Willem Borski, who had close business relations with the Barings Bank and Hope & Co. After his death his widow Johanna Borski became not only the owner of Elswout, but also one of the most important bankers in Dutch history for co-founding and rescuing De Nederlandsche Bank in its early years.

The main building seen today was designed in Italian high renaissance style in 1883 by C Muysken for her grandson, the rich banker Willem Borski III, but construction was stopped in 1884 when Borski died childless, and the house was never completed, remaining a folly until World War II when the German occupying forces put a provisional roof on the building for use as a garrison.

[2] The park surrounding the main house contains various follies that are also protected in the heritage register, as are the gatekeeper's entrance, the orangerie, and the stables.