Hofwijck is a mansion built for 17th-century politician Constantijn Huygens. It is located in Voorburg on the Vliet canal from The Hague to Leiden. The formal address of the cultural heritage is 2 Westeinde, Voorburg, the Netherlands, but its location today is better known as the Voorburg railway station.
Mansion Hofwijck in Voorburg
After he became a widower, Huygens bought land on the Vliet in Voorburg with plans to build a summer home. At the time it was quite fashionable to have a summer home on a river or canal, and old maps of Voorburg show Hofwijck as one of many. The building itself and the gardens (originally on both sides of the Vliet) were designed by Huygens himself in cooperation with the architect Jacob van Campen. The estate was to be “a harmonious piece of paradise on earth, with a garden in God’s image and likeness.” Huygens was very much inspired by the works of classical Roman architect Vitruvius. Pieter Post was in charge of the actual building activities.
The building was erected in unplastered brick and is in the Classicist style. It stands in the centre of a square swan pond. Hofwijck was inaugurated in 1642 in the company of friends and relatives.
Here is a photographic impression of museum photography museum Huygenshuis Hofwijck.