History of Lange Vijverberg 15
Strictly speaking the history of Lange Vijverberg 15 begins in 1755, when the architect Pieter de Swart was commissioned to build three houses on the site where the so-called 'Friese Hof', or Frisian Court had stood. But people had already lived here for centuries. This essay therefore sketches the development of the site both before and after this date.
In the late fourteenth century construction on the Lange Vijverberg was mentioned for the first time. Prior to 1652 the area was inhabited by private individuals who in one way or another were connected with the Court. Thereafter the houses which stood where Lange Vijverberg 14, 15 and 16 now stand belonged to the Frisian stadholders, who occupied both of them. For more than a century these were the buildings known as the Frisian Court. In 1755 Manuel Lopes Suasso bought both properties, had them demolished, and commissioned Pieter de Swart to build three houses at this location in the same style. The houses were sold separately following their completion. Four years later, in 1759, the house that had replaced the original Lange Vijverberg 15 was acquired by a titled family who through inheritance and private sale managed to hold on to it for nearly two centuries. As we shall see, most members of this family had close ties to the Court. In 1939 the building assumed a cultural character. First of all Frits Lugt housed his renowned art collection there. Later - in 1975, to be exact - the building was taken over by the Netherlands Costume Museum and opened its doors to the public. Finally, in 1991 the art dealers Hoogsteder & Hoogsteder moved into it. The following outlines the history of Lange Vijverberg 15 chronologically.
1374
The name 'Vijverberg' is mentioned for the first time. The digging of the Hofvijver created a 'berg' (mountain) of sand that extended the length of the 'vijver' (pond). The land belonged to the Counts of Holland, who lived on the Binnenhof. Members of the nobility and high govern- ment officials were permitted to lease lots along the Vijverberg and to build their houses on them. They themselves were responsible for the 'timmerage', or construction, however.
1458
In the 'hofboek', or book of court, Jan van der Capelle, priest and canon at the Court of the Counts of Holland, is mentioned as owner of Lange Vijverberg 15.
1486
The same Jan van der Capelle also buys the adjoining house, Lange Vijverberg 16. Since he connected the two, the previously separate houses were referred to as the 'eastern' (Lange Vijverberg 16) and the 'western' (15) parts in the deed of sale.
1566
Leonard Casembroot, 'Raet Ordinaris aan den Hove', or Ordinary Council to the Court, is mentioned as the owner of both houses.
1610
The widow and heirs of Casembroot sell the eastern part to Frans van Dalen, 'Clerck van de financiele Raet van de Staten van Holland', or clerk of the financial council of the States of Holland.
1617
Frans van Dalen sells the eastern part to Agatha van Oldenbergh, who then left the property to her sister, Magdalena van Oldenbergh, when she died in 1628.
1622
The widow and heirs of Casembroot sell the western part to Lady Olimpe de Hertang, wife of Willem Zoete de Laecke, Lord of Hauteyn and St Pietersdorp. Willem Zoete de Laecke was Lieutenant-General and Admiral in the Province of Zealand.
1629
Jonkheer Cocq van Neerijnen, husband of Magdalena van Oldenbergh, sells the eastern part to Odilia Hilbrants, wife of Willem Junius, secretary of the Prince of Orange.
1646
The heirs of Alexander Zoete de Laecke (who was possibly a son of Willem Zoete de Laecke) sold Lange Vijverberg 15 to Willem Frederik, Count of Nassau-Dietz, Stadholder of Friesland, Groningen and Drente.
1652
The heirs of Willem Junius sell the eastern part to Willem Frederik, Count of Nassau-Dietz.
1652
Willem Frederik transforms the two properties into one court for himself as stadholder. The Frisian stadholders stayed here whenever they were in The Hague. The house was known as the 'Frisian Court' for more than a century.
1702
Beginning of the Second Stadholderless Period, during which The Hague became known as 'the city with the empty palaces'. For forty-five years the city was bereft of princely splendour, the Frisian Court being the only establishment in the vicinity where the Frisian stadholders lodged from time to time.
1747
The Frisian stadholder Willem Karel Hendrik Friso van Nassau was appointed Stadholder of Holland (Willem tv), thus bringing the Second Stadholderless Period to an end.
1748
The Stadholder of Holland was made Stadholder of the United Provinces, at which point the title became hereditary. Court life thus returned to The Hague. After Willem IV transferred his Court to the Binnenhof, the Frisian Court ceased to be the official residence of the stadholders.
1751
William IV dies at the Huis Ten Bosch palace in The Hague.
1755
On 28 April 1755, on behalf of 'Her Royal Highness the Dowager Princess of Prince Willem IV of Orange and Nassau as mother and guardian of Her Highness's children', the Frisian Hof is sold to Manuel Lopes Suasso for 28,300 guilders. The Suasso family were Portuguese Jews who played an important financial role in Holland in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Manuel's father Francesco had been a very prosperous banker and was a friend of the stadholder-king Willem III, and is said to have loaned Willem iit no less than two million guilders in 1688, without which he could not have left for England. Given the close ties between the Suasso family and the stadholders it is not surprising that Manuel Lopes Suasso acquired the Frisian Court in 1755. Suasso had the Frisian Court demolished and commissioned Pieter de Swart, Court Architect of Willem IV, to build three houses on the same lot, Lange Vijverberg 14, 15 and 16. The same numbering could be used because the two houses to the left of the Frisian Court (13 and 14) had previously been turned into one house, Lange Vijverberg 13.
1757
On 17 June Manuel Lopes Suasso sells Lange Vijverberg 16 to Moseh Jahacob de Pinto for 30,000 guilders.
1759
Lange Vijverberg 14 is sold to the lawyer Gerrit Pieter Hoofd, Treasurer of Delfland, o n 30 May for 28,000 guilders.
1759
On 21 March Lange Vijverberg 15, the largest of the three houses, is sold to Anna Katharina de la Porte, Lady of Warmenhuyzen, for 47,500 guilders. According to the deed of sale her husband, Christiaan Constantijn Rumph, was already deceased. They had one daughter, Anna Catharina Rumph van Warmenhuyzen, who would marry twice. Her first husband, whom she married in 1750, was Hans Willem, Rijksbaron van Aylva. The marriage lasted only one year: Hans Willem died in 1751, before the birth of his son, who received his name. Anna bore her second husband, Jacob Adriaen, Baron Du Tour, a daughter, who was named after her.
17..
Following the death of her mother, Anna Katharina de la Porte, the date of which is still not known, Anna Catharina Rumph van Warmenhuyzen inherits Lange Vijverberg 15.
1796
Anna Catharina Rumph van Warmenhuyzen dies at Hampton Court during a visit to England. According to her testament, she left the house on the Lange Vijverberg to her son from her first marriage, Hans Willem, and to her daughter from her second, Anna Catharina Elisabeth.
1806
In a notarial act Lange Vijverberg 15 is allocated to Hans Willem, Rijksbaron van Aylva, Lord of Waardenburg, Neerijnen, Warmenhuyzen, Schoorldam and Krabbendam. Hans Willem would live in the house till his death in 1827. The record of his public service is impressive: he was a member of the Council of State, Chamberlain and Honourary Chamberlain of the Queen of Holland, Upper Lord Chamberlain and Upper Chamberlain of the King.
Hans Willem married Cornelia van Brakel (d. 1823). They had a daughter, Anna Jacoba Wilhel- mina, Rijksbaroness van Aylva. In 1800 Anna married Frederik Willem Floris Theodorus, Baron van Pallandt, Lord of Keppel, Voorst, Barlham and Hage. Like his father-in-law, Frederik held various important positions, including Minister of Religion, Council of State and Chamberlain Extraordinary of the King. He and his wife Anna, Rijk sbaroness van Aylva, had a daughter in 1801, Arnoldina Wilhelmina Cornelia, Baroness van Pallandt, Lady of Warmenhuyzen, Schoorldam and Krabbendam.
1827
Hans Willem, Baron van Aylva, dies. His daughter and heir, Anna, predeceased him in 1814. The following owner was his granddaughter, Arnoldina. In 1826 she married Edward Hobbe, Baron Rengers, Lord Chamberlain of the Prince of Orange, member of the States of South Holland and Chamberlain Extraordinary of the King. Edward and Anna had six children. The family lived in the house till 1865.
1860
Arnoldina, Baroness van Pallandt, dies. The children are given the house in usufruct.
1865
Arnoldina's heirs sell the house to Arnout Nicolaas Justinus Maria, Baron van Brienen van de Groote Lindt. Arnout, Baron van Brienen was a member of the Amsterdam banking family Van Brienen. He was Chamberlain Extraordinary to King Willem iir and later also member of the Council of Guardians responsible for the young Queen Wilhelmina. Throughout all of this the house remained in the family, since Arnout van Brienen married a daughter of Arnoldina in 1862, namely Justina, Baroness van Rengers. Justina died, however, shortly after giving birth to their one daughter, Ida.
1885
Following the division of the estate which took place this year, Ida, Baroness van Brienen was mentioned in the cadastral registers as owner of the property. In 1881 she married the lawyer Louis Paul Marie Hubert, Baron Michiels van Verduynen.
1913
Louis, Baron Michiels van Verduynen, inherits the house from his wife. He lived on the Lange Vijverberg, which he must have found convenient since, among other things, he was Secretary-General of the Court of Arbitration and a member of the City Council of The Hague, besides belonging to the States of South Holland and the Lower House of the States General consecutively.
1929
Ferdinand Edgar Marie Hubert, Baron Michiels van Verduynen inherits the house from his father Louis. Ferdinand was the Queen's Chamberlain Extraordinary and both envoy extraordinary and plenipotentiary in Vienna. After having owned the house for ten years he sold it in 1939, possibly on account of his responsibilities abroad.
1939
Frederik Johannes (Frits) Lugt buys Lange Vijverberg 15 from Ferdinand, Baron Michiels van Verduynen. Lugt, an art historian and inveterate collector, was a connoisseur of Dutch drawings. He had already purchased Lange Vijverberg 14 in 1939. Both houses later belonged to the 'Fondation Custodia' Frits Lugt founded in Switzerland. During World War Two he lived in the United States and lectured frequently. After the war he founded the Institut Neerlandais in Paris, where he sought to stimulate French interest in Dutch culture by organizing exhibitions and the like. Nowadays his collection can be seen at the Institut. Lugt died in 1970.
1956
The Fondation Custodia sells both Lange Vijverberg 14 and 15 to the City of The Hague. The Netherlands Costume Museum is housed in the former.
1975
Having grown too large for Lange Vijverberg 14 the Costume Museum expands to 15 and opens it to the public.
1988
The City Council of The Hague decides to sell both houses.
1989
The restoration of the two houses was initiated by the architect G. Lankhorst in co-operation with the Gemeentelijk Bureau voor Monumentenzorg, the Municipal authority responsible for historic preservation. The contractor was Koninklijke Woudenberg Ameide.
1991
The art dealers Hoogsteder & Hoogsteder open their new headquarters at Lange Vijverberg 15.
Pieter de Swart, Court Architect of Willem IV
The three houses on the Lange Vijverberg - numbers 14, 15 and 16 - form an architectural whole. In 1755 Manuel Lopez Suasso, Court Architect of Willem IV, commissioned Pieter de Swart to design all three. They are one of the few constructions in Holland that can be securely attributed to De Swart. As a designer of urban decoration Pieter de Swart (1709?-1773) caught the attention of Prince Willem IV at the time of the Prince's ceremonial entrance to Breda. At the Prince's instigation and expense, De Swart received his training from the noted master builder Jacques Blondel in Paris in 1745-'46. When De Swart returned to Holland, the celebrated but aged Daniel Marot (ca. 1660-1752) was still Willem III's Court Architect. Examples of Marot's designs include Huis Schuylenborch on the Lange Vijverberg (1715) and Hotel Huguetan (l734; until recently the Royal Library) on the Lange Voorhout, to which Pieter de Swart added two wings in 1761. After Willem IV became stadholder in 1749 he appointed De Swart as his Court Architect.
Before leaving for Paris De Swart was still designing his decorations in the style of Louis XIV, as was Daniel Marot. During the decade 1755-'65 he received a great many commissions and his style more closely resembled that of Louis XV, surpassing that of Marot in elegance and refinement. De Swart's stylistic development during this stage of his career is illustrated by Lange Vijverberg 14, 15 and 16, the facade of the Hague Lutheran Church, the Council Chamber in Leeuwarden, the Landpoort at Weilburg and the house on the Korte Voorhout known for being the former palace of Queen Emma. The changes Huis ten Bosch underwent during these years are also characteristic of De Swart's style.
De Swart's later work embodies a few Louis XVI motifs. The Royal Theatre, formerly the palace Nassau-Weilburg, anticipates superbly Louis XVI architecture. We have noted that Pieter de Swart fashioned Lange Vijverberg 14, 15 and 1 6 as one entity, though the three houses are recognizably separate nonetheless. He achieved this effect of unity and diversity by recessing the middle house by several centimetres. The fact that only half of the sandstone bays framing the central structure are visible reinforces the effect. It would thus seem that the floorplan of the complex is U-shaped, that the middle portion stands back while the houses on either side are actually wings. In 1761 De Swart resorted to this device once again when, as mentioned earlier, he added wings to Hotel Huguetan.