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Dutch royalty & the kingfisher Delft blue Verita's Visit nature & culture tour

The Dutch royalty & the kingfisher

Are you a colorful bird with mythical powers: steadfast and calm in bad weather? Do your feathers happen to be orange, white and blue? Congratulations! You’ve been chosen as a national symbol. The Dutch royalty & the kingfisher go back a long way. For William of Orange it was love at first sight. In his opinion the bird represented everything he stood for.

Nickname William of Orange

Nicknames can be a man’s best friend. William of Orange went into history as De Zwijger - the man who doesn’t - want to- speak. In English he is referred to as ‘The Silent’. In tense political situations he would remain calm and say very little. His opposers would depict him as unable to choose a side, make decisions and being astute There is an anecdote before the start of the Eighty Years of War which nicely shows how these traits: "The King (of France) talked on thus to Orange in the full conviction that he was aware of the secret agreement recently made with the Duke of Alba for the extirpation of heresy. But the Prince, subtle and adroit as he was, answered the good King in such a way as to leave him still under the impression that he, the Prince, knew all about the scheme proposed by Alba; and on this understanding the King revealed all the details of the plan which had been arranged between the King of Spain and himself for the rooting out and rigorous punishment of the heretics, from the lowest to the highest rank, and in this service the Spanish troops were to be mainly employed."

I am a rock

William the Silent wanted to be seen as the rock people could hold on to in times of trouble.

In 1568 the Netherlands was ruled by the King of Spain. William saw the effect of the King’s oppression and the raise of taxes on the Dutch people. In 1568 he started the Dutch revolt. It led to the Eighty Years of War - The war ended in 1648- In 1581, that was even during the revolt!, William got many of the provinces of the Netherlands to sign the Act of Abjuration. This Act was a declaration of independence of the United States of the Netherlands. During these years of war William lived by the motto: ‘Saevis tranquilus in undis’, calm in stormy waters. And this motto is linked to the Kingfisher.

Dutch royalty & the kingfisher or falcon? Verita's Visit — https://www.mun.ca/alciato/f179.html

The character the Dutch royalty & the kingfisher have in common

The great traits of the kingfisher first appear in a Greek myth. The bird would build its nest on top of the waves, proud, persistent and not afraid for wind or storm. Centuries of myths and legends followed untill Basilius the Great thought it nice to connect the motto ‘tranquillum esse media bruma’ - to be calm in the middle of a storm- to a picture of a kingfisher calmly sitting on its nest on stormy waters. Centuries later this motto was slightly adjusted by humanist Alciatus. In his Emblemata he speaks of ‘tranquilli in marmoris unda’ - calm in the marmor wave. The bird he speaks of, unfortunately, is a falcon. Nevertheless his work may have been brought to the attention of the Prince of Orange, aka William the Silent.

The other link between the Dutch royal family & the kingfisher

It was at that time that the link between the Dutch royal family & the kingfisher was first made. It was the peace loving, steadfast character of the bird that attracted William. Moreover the metallic blue bird with his orange breast and white stripes, was a perfect match with the colors of the House of Orange.

The Queen mother is calm

The kingfisher was a loyal companion on William the Silent’s journey to independence. Then he was forgotten. Queen Wilhelmina started using the motto again and had a kingfisher on her desk. And then,then William Alexander came. At the time of his coronation, 30 April 2013 he thanked his mother, Beatrix for her hard work and for being ‘calm in stormy waters’.

Royal Delft blue pottery and the kingfisher

The link between the Dutch royal family & the kingfisher is immortalised in the Royal Delft Blue plates King William Alexander had made for his 50th birthday. The royal earthenware collection depicts the bird peacefully moving around in a sea of blue. See if you can find the motto, it encircles the stamp on the backside of the pottery.

The anecdote of William of Orange & the King of France is taken from https://fampeople.com/cat-william-the-silent_6

For this article I used the website of Royal Delft & my contacts there and Wikipedia

Hague castle event venue once a brewer's farm

There's a The Hague castle event venue, that was once was a brewer's farm. Jan, son of a golf club maker made money brewing beer. On an estate the size of 7 rugby fields he built a farmhouse. Now, when you walk in the dense estate's forest it is not a farmhouse that's hidden from sight.

Delft brewer's fortune

Jan Pieterszn. Colff doesn't want to follow his father's footsteps and make golf clubs. He does what many do in his days and opens a brewery. In de Witte Hoefijsser - In The White Horseshoe- is right next to the canal in Voorstraat 2 in Delft. Two centuries later, in 1770, his grandson Pieter Maartenszn. enjoys great fortune. He adds Hoeffijser to his name and replaces his great grandfather's 'Colffmaekerswoning' - house of a golf club maker- . Pieter proudly calls the new building 'House of Hoeffijser'. It comprises a mansion surrounded by a canal and a small farmer's house. To make sure outsiders understand the difference between mansion and farmer's house the first is referred to as Large Horseshoe.

The woman and the Dutch estate

Mid 19th century brickmanufacturer Cornelis Schiffer van Bleyswijk renovates the whole estate and dedicates it to his wife Suzanna de Wildt. The Large Horseshoe estate is now De Wiltenburg, later known as Wittenburg. It still is not a Hague castle event venue, but this will change. At the turn of the 20th century an esquire knocks on the door and buys estate De Wittenburg.

custom made tour castles Hague kasteel op maat activiteit Haag Verita's Visit — Front side castle De Wittenburg

Wittenburg becomes a castle near Hague

Fashion changes with time. Esquire Helenus Martinus Speelman has high demands when it comes to the design of his new house. His architect Johannes van Nieukerken has to make several designs before Helenus finally approves the design. This is the moment the brewer's farm, the brickmanufacturer's house becomes the castle near Hague. Parts of demolished houses in Amsterdam and The Hague form the castle. When his mansion is almost finished and the tower is built, Helenus tells the workers to remove tower and upper floor. Still not happy with the result, he asks his friend, also promoter of the interests of Dutch castles, for advice. The upper floor and tower are rebuilt.

The Hague castle event venue & hotel

What was once a brewer's farm is now a The Hague castle event venue. Royalty, ministers and corporates have been coming to this stately 4 star hotel and event locationfor ages. With the opening of the new restaurant, Sophie, named after the wife of Helenus you can now also enjoy the estate's tranquility during a lunch, high tea or dinner in De Wittenburg.

side event location Hague Haag locatie personeelsuitje Verita's Visit — Lime tree lane towards castle near Hague

Explore the estate and it's surrounding

One extra tip: Explore the park which is full of monuments and monumental trees. From different sides you'll find great sneek peaks on the castle, its pond and outside terrace. When you you enter estate De Witteburg via the original lime lane you'll see the estate's border monument with the initials of Helenus.

History tour nature Hague geschiedenis activiteit natuur Den Haag Verita's Visit — Initials H.M.S. on estate's border monument

You can also reach this Dutch castle by bike. There is an amazing cycle route from The Hague to Leiden that passes several estates in this part of Holland. Some, like this castle near Hague are hard to spot in spring and summer due to the lush monumental trees.