Oranjewoud Palace was built for the royal family. In 1676
Countess Albertine Agnes of Nassau bought a country seat in the woods as a
buitenplaats or summer residence. She was a
Princess of Orange, and a widow of the Frisian
Stadtholder Willem Frederik of Nassau-Dietz. After her death, her daughter
Princess Henriëtte Amalia of Anhalt-Dessau owned the palace. Her
architect Daniel Marot, known for
Het Loo Palace, designed a new palace. Two wings were built, but the central building was never built. After Princess Henriëtte's death,
John William Friso, Prince of Orange lived in the palace. He died very early, and his wife,
Landgravine Marie Louise of Hesse-Kassel stayed at Oranjewoud after his death. Until 1747 the palace was often visited by the stadhouders. At that time
William IV, Prince of Orange lived in Oranjewoud.
William V, Prince of Orange visited the palace one last time in 1777. Beside Oranjewoud Palace the royal family had another residence called Carolineburg. This was a small
castle. Probably it was named after
Princess Carolina of Orange-Nassau, who lived there. In 1774 it was demolished. During the
French Revolution the palace was demolished and the estate was sold to the Frisian
nobility. One of them was Hans Willem de Blocq van Scheltinga. In 1834 he built a new
buitenplaats on the previously royal estate called Oranjewoud, after
Oranjewoud Palace. This new buitenplaats was not longer owned by the royal family. It was occasionally visited by members of the royal family.
King William I of the Netherlands,
King William III of the Netherlands and
Queen Juliana of the Netherlands all stayed at Oranjewoud.
Prince Henry of the Netherlands,
Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld,
Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and
Prince Claus of the Netherlands visited the buitenplaats as well. Later, the
buitenplaats is owned by the
Friesland Bank. now it is owned by the Bopper Fryslan Foundation. Oranjestein is another buitenplaats in Oranjewoud. This was the former home of the royal steward. The millionaire Pieter Cats bought it and had it expanded. Some other estates in Oranjewoud are: Klein Jagtlust, Oranjehoeve, Princenhof and Klemburg. Destroyed estates are: Ontwijk, Brouwershave, Veenzigt and Paauwenburg. ==Overtuin==