The Warnsborn Estate is situated just outside Arnhem in the Veluwezoom National Park and was first recorded in the 15th century. It grew into a stately home with a chapel, a coach house, a park and an orangery. During the Second World War, the house was destroyed by fire, but was subsequently rebuilt and is now used as a hotel.
Burial mounds
One of the largest burial mounds in Europe is located on the estate. It is called ‘Meelworstenberg’, because in 1947 archaeologists used to sit on the mound to eat their meelworst, a sausage containing flour and meat. The burial mound is believed to date from the same time as the dolmens of Drenthe (2700 BC), but it could be much older! A small stone object, a flint scraper used to clean skins, was found nearby. At approximately 70,000 years old, this is by far the oldest implement to be found in the Netherlands.
History
The Warnsborn name appeared for the first time in 1428 when it was leased out as heathland by Duke Arnold of Guelders.After that, it became monastic property and in around 1650, parts to the north of Arnhem were sold to private individuals. This is how the Warnsborn Estate came into the hands of the Mayor of Arnhem, Everhard Everwijn. The current estate dates from the 19th century when Baron Röell Van Haserswoudebuilta stately home in neoclassical style here. The heated orangery was built for growing exotic varieties of plants and trees such as orange trees.
From stately home to hotel
During the Second World War, the house was used as a rehabilitation and recreation centre for German soldiers. Disaster struck when the whole building went up in flames after a fire broke out during a party. The American Marshall Plan came to the rescue and funds were provided in 1950 for the construction of a new country house annex hotel that retained the same 19th-century style of the old house. Since 1991, the estate has been in private ownership and restoration work on the orangery and the gardens started in 2000. The woods and heathlands on the estate are now open to walkers, cyclists and horse riders.
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