Did you know that the famous 19th-century painter Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836-1912) actually wasn’t a Brit, but a Dutch national with a British denizenship (foreigner with the same rights as the Queen’s British subjects)? Even if I don’t really know much about art, I knew his name and that he was Dutch. But why at […]
I have to put plans to visit the new Emperor Wilhelm II exhibition at Palace Het Loo in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands, on hold, at least until early December. I was planning to visit either this or next weekend, but my sister had her 40th birthday. And I suddenly have other – and even more interesting […]
Here Bearn Bilker, Jannewietske de Vries, Fred Crone, surrounded by the Friso brothers (owners of the building).
How to open a year to commemorate one of the grandest women in Frisian history? As written earlier 2015 is the The Year of Maria Louise. The official opening of the year on 9 April 2015 took place exactly 250 years after her death in 1765. Maria Louise Princess of Orange and of Nassau, born […]
Once Leeuwarden was a real royal residence, small and unknown, from the late 16th century to 1765, when Princess-Regent Maria Louise died in the city. Just visit the Tourist Information near the railway station and get yourself the Orange-Nassau Walk through the historical city of Leeuwarden to find the traces that are still there. There […]
Maria Louise? Yes, Maria Louise, still quite well-known, especially in the Province of Friesland, The Netherlands. This Princess of Orange-Nassau, a born Princess von Hessen-Kassel, died on 9 April 1765 in Leeuwarden, the capital of the Province of Friesland. She is even better known under her nickname “Marijke Meu” (Aunt Mary). Her 250th death anniversary […]
On 13 September I went to see Queen Máxima of the Netherlands opening the Fries Museum in Leeuwarden, The Netherlands. I have visited the old museum several times, so I was quite interested to see what it looks like now. Thanks to a huge legacy of architect Abe Bonnema the museum could build a new […]
On 14 June 2013 King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands visited the Dutch provinces Friesland and Noord-Holland. It was the fourth day of the tour through the twelve provinces of the Netherlands.It is a tradition that a new King and Queen visit the Dutch provinces. A visit to the Caribean part of the […]
