Nordeinde

The first building that arose on the site of the future palace was a farmhouse built for Willem van de Gout in 1533. The basement of this house can still be seen in the palace cellars of a modern building.

From 1556 to 1591, the house had another owner. After that, it was leased and in 1595 it was purchased for Louise de Coligny, Princess of Orange , widow of William of Orange and her son Frederick Henry . In 1609, Frederick Henry became the owner of the building. He significantly expanded the house, which was then called the Oude Hof . The prince began to buy up local lands. The architects Peter Post and Jacob van Kampen , who built another royal palace - Huis ten Bosch , were involved in the construction of Nordeinde since 1645. The building was significantly expanded, it appeared two wings on both sides, thereby giving the building an N-shape, which has survived to this day.

After his death in 1647, Frederick Henry in the palace lived his wife Amalia Solms-Braunfelskaya . She died in 1675, the house remained empty for many years. The palace passed into the possession of William III of Orange , who died in 1702. After him, the palace passed to the Prussian king Frederick I , grandson of William III.

In 1740, Voltaire stayed in the palace when he visited the Dutch philosopher Jan van Duren. In 1754, the lands, including the palace, were sold by King Frederick the Great to William V of Orange , the last staffing of the Netherlands. His son Willem, the future king Willem I settled in the palace in 1792, but with the arrival of the French in the Netherlands, he was forced to flee to England with his family. The palace became the property of the Batavian Republic , thus becoming the state property in which it is still located. The garden of the palace became open to the public.

In 1813, after the fall of Napoleon, Prince Willem returned to the Netherlands, where he was proclaimed king. The constitution of the state obliged to provide the monarch with a summer and winter palace. It was originally planned to build a new winter residence, but in the end it was decided that she would remain Oude Hof . King Willem I moved to the palace in 1817 and lived in it until his abdication in 1840 in favor of the son of Willem II . The new king never lived in the palace, which was then known under its modern name - Nordeinde. The next king of the Netherlands - Willem III used the palace as his winter residence, although he preferred to stay in Hat Loo . In 1876, royal stables were built in the garden behind the palace.

The daughter of Willem III from her second marriage with Emma Waldeck-Pyrmont Wilhelmina, the future queen, was born in 1880 in Nordeinde. In 1890, Willem III died, Queen Emma and her daughter spent the first winter in this palace. In 1895, by order of the Queen Regent Emma, ​​the Royal Archives were built on the territory of the palace.

In 1901, Queen Emma moved to another Lange Voorhout palace, now the Escher Museum . Her daughter Wilhelmina and her husband Henry stayed in Nordeinde. Before the German attack in 1940, Queen Wilhelmina continued to live in the palace, and after the war he was again used as a winter residence.

In 1948, the central part of the palace was destroyed by fire. In the same year, Queen Juliana ascended the throne, preferring the palace of Sustdeyk as an official residence. Other members of the royal family continued to use the palace for their own purposes. After a thorough renovation in 1984, the palace became the working palace of the Dutch monarch, who is now Willem Alexander (king since 2013). Nordeinde Palace is one of the three official residences of the Dutch monarch.

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• The history of the Nordeinde Palace on the official website of the royal family. (eng.)