Huis Honselaarsdijk

Huis Honselaarsdijk is a former palace and country residence of the Dutch Stadtholders and princes of Orange which lies about 2.6 km (2 mi) southwest of the border of The Hague, the Netherlands.

In the 16th century it belonged to the House of Arenberg, but they were on the Spanish side in the Eighty Years' War, and it was expropriated by the States of Holland and West Friesland and put at the disposal of Prince Maurice of Orange.

The medieval castle was torn down and was replaced between 1621 and 1647 by a new moated house and gardens inspired by the French architecture of the Luxembourg Palace, but with distinct Dutch features.

After the death of his father, Prince William II completed the building of the house, although only a few of the planned extensions, such as galleries and pavilions, were created.

The Prussian king and his family mostly lived in Berlin and because of an ongoing dispute about the inheritance with the King-Stadtholder's sole heirs in the Frisian Nassau branch, little or no maintenance was taken up and the house fell into disrepair.

Huis Honselaarsdijk by Daniël Stoopendaal, 1710
Exterior view of De Nederhof
Courtyard of De Nederhof