Nederland - Vogelenzang, Huis Leyduin

For wealthy city inhabitants in the western part of the Netherlands, owning a country house increasingly became a status symbol. At the beginning of the 19th century, there were more than 120 of them between Beverwijk and Hillegom along the inner dunes.

One of them was Huis Leyduin, which was already mentioned as a homestead in 1596. The estate was increasingly expanded by the owners. In the 18th century, the place was inhabited by the Van Loon family. They built a belvedere, which stand on a man made hill and had lines of sight across the area in the past.

In the year of 1808 Leyduin came into the possession of the Van Lennep family. They had a new house built on the site of the old mansion and also made parts of the country estate available for the first dune water extraction, intended for the city of Amsterdam.

The current Huis Leyduin was built in 1921 and was inhabited by the Dorhout Mees family.

After the World War II, Huis Leyduin was a girls' boarding school and a training institute, among other things. Since 1997, Leyduijn has been owned by Landschap Noord Holland (a Dutch foundation which aims to protect the landscape and nature of the province of North Holland).

The house itself is not open for public, but the surrounding park is free to visit. Nowadays the estate is a Dutch national monument.