Villa Vickie

At the end of the 17th century, a farmstead dating back to the 1400s was turned into a manorial estate. The first manor was built in the early 1730s and the construction of a park started. Between 1775 and 1780 the area had turned into a picturesque English style park, complete with a deer park, a bird cage, a tea house, wildly shaped ponds, artificial dunes, a moss hill and a decorative hermitage. In 1846 the estate became property of a member of the royal family who already owned several other estates nearby. In 1912 the estate was split up into five smaller estates, including the one of Villa Vickie (pseudonym – not the real name!). On the nearly 3,5 hectares estate this manor was built in the early 1900s.

In the 80s and the early 90s the manor was used as an office, and then became derelict. It was squatted for some time and when they left anti-squatters (legal squatters) inhabited the house for a few years. Recently the anti-squatters left and renovation works seem to have started, though it seems to move very slow or is possibly even stalled. I read that no permit has been given by the local authorities so that might be the cause. Anyway, it gave me the chance to go inside without disturbing anyone, though the inside isn’t too interesting. The exterior is what it’s all about!

It’s said that the house is haunted but I haven’t met any ghosts inside. One of the former anti-squat residents also noted that he didn’t experience any strange events during his stay, so I think that one is busted.