Visitors info
MASTERLY THE HAGUE 2023
Biennale of Old Master Paintings & Dutch Design
21 - 24 September 2023
Frisian Court in the Museum Quarter
Lange Vijverberg 14-15-16
11-18 hrs
Lange Vijverberg is beautifully situated in the heart of The Hague immediately opposite Hofvijver and Binnenhof.
These historical buildings are within walking distance of The Hague Central Station. Museum Quarter’s car park is adjacent to Masterly The Hague.
The palatial residences
at Lange Vijverberg 14, 15 and 16
were built in 1755,
designed by court architect Pieter de Swart.
The marvellous rococo facades
of the ensemble
reflect the wealth of the eighteenth-century elite.
THE LOCATIONS
Lange Vijverberg 14, 15 and 16 are three splendid rococo houses. They were designed together in 1750 by Pieter de Swart, court architect of hereditary stadholder Prince William IV. For a century, this prominent location was home to the Frisian court, the Hague residence of the stadholders of Friesland, direct ancestors of today’s Dutch royal family. The houses reflect the luxury in which the eighteenth-century elite lived. Narrow service stairs to the basements and coach houses hark back to bygone days.
Binnenhof
In 1250, Count William IV began building Knights Hall (Ridderzaal) and Court Chapel (Hofkapel) around a natural lake in the dunes. A century later, the first houses had already been built on Lange Vijverberg across from Binnenhof. Most were home to people associated with the court.
It was in 1652 that the land on which Lange Vijverberg 14, 15 and 16 now stands was bought by Friesland’s stadholder William Frederick, Prince of Nassau-Dietz. He married Albertine Agnes in that same year,* daughter of Frederick Henry and Amalia, Prince and Princess of Orange. Frederick Henry’s branch of the Orange family continued until William III, stadholder and king of England, died in 1702.
The title of prince of Orange and hereditary stadholder of the Republic of the United Netherlands passed to Prince William IV in 1748, of the Frisian branch of Nassau-Dietz. At which point, he no longer needed the Frisian court on Lange Vijverberg and moved into the residence at Binnenhof opposite, as well as assuming various other Orange palaces. In 1755, he sold his Frisian court to Manuel Lopes Suasso, a close associate of the Orange family.
Three houses
Soon after, Manuel Lopes commissioned court architect Pieter de Swart to build three houses. In 1757, number 16 was sold; two years later, numbers 14 and 15 followed. Number 15 was to remain in the possession of the same family for almost two centuries.
It was in the twentieth century that the houses first received a cultural function, when art collector Frits Lugt acquired number 14. A Costume Museum later found a home at Lange Vijverberg 14 and 15.
After the Costume Museum closed, these buildings were completely renovated and in 1990 Museum Bredius and Hoogsteder & Hoogsteder art gallery opened. Meanwhile, number 16 has also taken on a cultural role. It now presents paintings by nineteenth-century artist Cornelis Kruseman, collected by the Cornelis Kruseman - J.M.C. Ising Foundation.
* Henriette Catharina was a sister of Albertina Agnes and built Oranienbaum Palace, familiar to Dutch designers. In 2012, the palace hosted the Dutch Design – House of Orange exhibition.