Kareol had a high water tower that could be seen from the train and was built in 1908 by a German-born Amsterdammer, the banker and chairman of the Wagnervereniging, Julius Carl Bunge.

Already in 1907 the German artist, designer and architect Max Laeuger took over the building site when the foundation walls were built.

He not only developed an extensive decoration programme that included the interior, tiles, and light fixtures, but also designed the large garden.

Bunge was a worshiper of Richard Wagner and there were many tiles in the house with pictures referring to the opera Tristan and Isolde.

The small temple at the end of one of the park lanes still has a tile design, the last remnant of a whole collection of them that had been used to decorate the house.