Stadhouderlijk Hof in the city of

Leeuwarden Leeuwarden (; fy, Ljouwert, longname=yes /; Town Frisian: ''Liwwadden''; Leeuwarder dialect: ''Leewarden'') is a city and municipality in Friesland, Netherlands, with a population of 123,107 (2019). It is the provincial capital and seat of the ...

is a former residence of the Dutch royal family and was owned by them until 1971.

History

Sophia Hedwig van Brunswijk-Wolfenbüttel met kinderen

The palace was originally built in 1564 by Boudewijn van Loo, the rentmaster-general of the Spanish king and leader of the ''Hof van Friesland''. In 1587 it was purchased as the residence of

William Louis, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg William Louis of Nassau-Dillenburg ( nl, Willem Lodewijk; fry, Willem Loadewyk; 13 March 1560, Dillenburg, Hesse – 13 July 1620, Leeuwarden, Netherlands) was Count of Nassau-Dillenburg from 1606 to 1620, and stadtholder of Friesland, ...

and his wife

Countess Anna of Nassau Countess Anna of Nassau (5 November 1563 – 13 June 1588) was a daughter of William the Silent and his second wife, Anna of Saxony. She was the wife of William Louis, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg. Biography Anna and William Louis were marrie ...

. The couple was childless and the residence passed in 1620 to

Ernst Casimir Ernest Casimir I (22 December 1573 – 2 June 1632) was a Count of Nassau-Dietz and Stadtholder of Friesland, Groningen and Drenthe. Biography He was the 11th child of John VI, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg, and Countess Elisabeth of Le ...

, and on his death in 1632 to his eldest son

Henry Casimir I of Nassau-Dietz Henry may refer to: People * Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portuga ...

, and then in 1640 on his death to his younger brother

William Frederick, Prince of Nassau-Dietz William Frederick ( nl, Willem Frederik; Arnhem 7 August 1613 – Leeuwarden 31 October 1664), Count (from 1654 Imperial Prince) of Nassau-Dietz, Stadtholder of Friesland, Groningen and Drenthe. Biography Family life William Frederick was the se ...

, whose claim to fame was becoming the guardian of the young

William III of England William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 16508 March 1702), also widely known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, Zeeland, Lordship of Utrecht, Utrec ...

for seven years. Today he is remembered in Leeuwarden for creating the Prinsentuin garden that still exists today. In 1672 his son

Henry Casimir II, Prince of Nassau-Dietz Henry Casimir II of Nassau-Dietz (18 January 1657 – 25 March 1696) was Stadtholder of Friesland and Groningen from 1664 till 1696. Life Henry Casimir II of Nassau-Dietz was born in The Hague, the eldest son of Willem Frederik of Nassau-Dietz an ...

and in 1696, his grandson

John William Friso, Prince of Orange John William Friso ( nl, Johan Willem Friso; 14 August 1687 – 14 July 1711) became the (titular) Prince of Orange in 1702. He was the Stadtholder of Friesland and Groningen in the Dutch Republic until his death by accidental drowning in the H ...

inherited the building. This string of royal names resulted in several paintings of the royal family by leading artists of the day. Many of these paintings once hung in the portrait gallery, and are now spread throughout other royal collections in the Netherlands. Since 1996 the building has become a hotel, that has preserved the 18th-century decorations as much as possible, such as the former portrait gallery redesigned in 1710 by

Daniel Marot Daniel Marot or Daniel Marot the Elder (1661–1752) was a French-born Dutch architect, furniture designer and engraver at the forefront of the classicizing Late Baroque Louis XIV style. He worked for a long time in England and the Dutch Republic ...

that held 17th- & 18th-century paintings by

Adriaen Hanneman Adriaen is a Dutch form of Adrian. Notable people with the name include: *Adriaen Banckert (1615–1684), Dutch admiral *Adriaen Block (1567–1627), Dutch private trader and navigator *Adriaen Brouwer (1605–1638), Flemish genre painter *Adriaen ...

Gerard van Honthorst Gerard van Honthorst (Dutch: ''Gerrit van Honthorst''; 4 November 1592 – 27 April 1656) was a Dutch Golden Age painting, Dutch Golden Age painter who became known for his depiction of artificially lit scenes, eventually receiving the nickn ...

Lancelot Volders Lancelot Volders also erroneously known as Louis Volders, Lois Volders and Jan Volders (10 March 1636 (baptized) – 23 March 1723 (buried)) was a Flemish painter who specialised mainly in individual and group portraits but also produced a few ...

Jan van Rijmsdijck Jan van Rymsdyk (also Rijmsdijck, Riemsdyk, Remsdyke) (c. 1730 – 20 February 1790)Jan van Rijmsdyck
at the

and others. other picture of same gallery
with explanation of the origins of the paintings.

References

External links

*
Hotel website with historical timeline
{{coord, 53.2025, 5.7955, type:landmark_region:NL, display=title Buildings and structures in Leeuwarden Royal residences in the Netherlands Rijksmonuments in Leeuwarden Palaces in the Netherlands