The D'Oliphant, also written as De Oliphant, was commissioned in 1591 by
Cornelis van Wijkcool
Cornelis is a Dutch form of the male given name Cornelius. Some common shortened versions of Cornelis in Dutch are Cees, Cor, Corné, Corneel, Crelis, Kees, Neel and Nelis.
Cornelis (Kees) and Johannes (Jan) used to be the most common given ...
as "boerenbehuizinge" built near
Nieuwesluis on the island
Voorne
Voorne-Putten is an island between the North Sea, the Brielse Meer and the rivers Oude Maas, Spui and Haringvliet in the province of South Holland. Voorne-Putten consists of the two former islands Voorne (the larger, western part) and Putten ...
. Oliphant translates into "Elephant" although the current spelling of the Dutch word is Olifant. The octagonal tower part of the house was probably designed to give the allure of a knight homestead and to suggest that the owner belonged to an ancient and noble family. The house was moved in 1975 and is now located at the Kromme Zandweg 90 in the district of
Charlois in
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...
.
{{Rijksmonument, 32924
Name
Cornelis Coolwijk was active in the
ivory trade
The ivory trade is the commercial, often illegal trade in the ivory tusks of the hippopotamus, walrus, narwhal, mammoth, and most commonly, African and Asian elephants.
Ivory has been traded for hundreds of years by people in Africa and ...
. At the time of the building he lived in Delft, "In de Gulden Olyphant" ("In the Golden Elephant"), which also refers to the source of his fortune. On the front face of the mansion a coat of arms containing an elephant with a castle on its.
History
Initially, the mansion was a tenant farm house. In 1772 it turned into an outpost and, in the 19th century, the permanent residence of the mayor of
Zwartewaal. There was at one time dairy factory located in the mansion. In 1975, the manor as a whole was moved from Nieuwesluis, Voorne channel to Rotterdam district Charlois, on the site of a recently burned farm. The hamlets of
Nieuwesluis, and
Blankenburg Blankenburg may refer to:
Places
* Blankenburg am Harz, a German town in the district of Harz, Saxony-Anhalt
* Blankenburg Castle (Harz), the castle in Blankenburg am Harz (see above)
* Bad Blankenburg, a German town in the Saalfeld-Rudolstadt d ...
on the other side of the
Brielse Maas
The Brielse Maas is a dammed river between the North Sea and the Oude Maas in the southern part of the Dutch province of South Holland. The town of Brielle, which gave it its name, is located on the south bank. The Brielse Maas was dammed bef ...
, disappeared under meters of sand. The building is now mainly used for business meetings and weddings.
External links
Website of "de Oliphant"Website about the disappeared village of Nieuwesluis
Rijksmonuments in Rotterdam