Kasteel Twickel

Twickel is an estate of around four thousand hectares in Twente that has been held as a single property since the fourteenth century and passed by inheritance, never divided - which in the Netherlands, where land was parcelled and reparcelled endlessly, is very unusual. It went into a foundation in 1953. The house is a moated sixteenth-century block with later wings, and it is still lived in, so interiors open only on a handful of guided dates. What is open is the estate: formal gardens, an English park, a walled kitchen garden, an orangery and a landscape of woodland, farmland and about a hundred and fifty tenant farms - all of which have their shutters painted in the estate's black and white livery, so driving through Twente you can tell Twickel land at a glance. That visible ownership pattern is the thing worth noticing.

History

The oldest mention of Twickel is from 1347, when Herman van Twickelo bought the Eysinck house near Delden, which became the castle. It passed by inheritance through the families Van Twickelo, Van Raesfelt, Van Wassenaer Obdam and Van Heeckeren van Wassenaer, and its last owner placed the estate in a foundation that still manages it (Wikipedia, Twickel).

The main sights

• One holding since the 1300s - four thousand hectares never divided.
• Estate livery on the farms - black and white shutters marking Twickel land.
• Formal and landscape gardens - parterres, walled kitchen garden and orangery.
• A moated sixteenth-century house - lived in, opened only on a few dates.

When to go

April to October. A day.

Things to know

The house interior opens on very few dates and books out - most visitors see gardens and estate only. Gardens are seasonal and closed in winter. The tenant farms are private homes and land.

Nearby

Delden is beside the estate; Hengelo and Enschede are east.

Key facts