Description of the attraction
Het Loo Palace, located in the small town of Apeldoorn, is the summer residence of the Royal family of the Netherlands. After the death of Queen Wilhelmina, the palace became the property of the state, in accordance with her will.
The construction of the palace was started in 1684 by stadtholder Wilhelm III, before that there was a small hunting lodge here. Construction and expansion continued for quite a long time, but at this time the palace was used by the Dutch monarchs as a summer residence. The palace was built in the style of Dutch classicism, which combines the features of the Italian baroque and classicism.
During the 1970s and 80s, significant restoration work was carried out in the palace, and in 19684 Het Loo was opened as a state museum. During a tour of the palace, visitors can see the original furnishings. The collection of the palace-museum has about 160 thousand exhibits, these are furniture, sculptures, paintings, costumes, photographs, books and much, much more. The stables of the palace are also open to the public, where you can see a collection of carriages from the 19th and 20th centuries.
A regular French-style garden was laid out on the territory, which is why Het Loo was sometimes called the Dutch Versailles, although the differences between them are much more than similar. In the 18th century, the garden was transformed into an English landscape park.
In the 1970s, along with the restoration work in the palace, work was carried out to restore the park to its original form. There are fountains in the park from April to October. There is a cafe on the territory of the park.
