Huis Doorn in Doorn, The Netherlands
Huis Doorn is a relatively small manor house lying outside the village of Doorn in the middle of The Netherlands. The house dates from the mid-14th century. There are records of an earlier house/castle at the same site, which was destroyed in 1322. In the 16th and 17th century residential buildings were build within the walls of the original defensive building.
At the end of the 18th century, the house was thoroughly rebuilt in line with the latest fashions, giving Huis Doorn it's current exterior. The corner tower you see in the picture above is a feature of the original 14th century building.
The house is best known for it's last resident, the last emperor of Germany, Kaiser Wilhelm II. After WWI, Wilhelm was forced to resign his office and he applied for asylum in The Netherlands, which had been neutral in WWI. Also, the current queen of The Netherlands was a distant relative of Wilhelm. Wilhelm bought Huis Doorn in 1920 and designed it with furniture and art objects from his palaces in Germany (unfortunately I was not allowed to take pictures inside). He lived at Huis Doorn for the rest of his life, a short time with his first wife Augusta Victoria and after her death with his second wife Hermine. Wilhelm died in 1941 and was (by his own request) buried in the small mausoleum you can see in the above picture in the garden of Huis Doorn (he did not want to be buried in German soil until the monarchy was re-established).
A dovecote from the 1840s. The grounds surrounding Huis Doorn are laid out in 19th century style.