Historic Country Houses & Landed Estates

The University of Groningen is the only university in the Netherlands to have a scientific research and teaching group in the field of country houses and landed estates. You can participate in this seminar as part of the Master Landscape History or during the bachelor History of Arts & Architecture

The master's course

The course consists of a series of seven weeks of lectures and tutorials in semester 2A, followed by three or four day-long excursions and a concluding field excursion in semester 2B.

• Lectures held in English on the residents’ history of the country estates, as well as the architecture and interior of the houses and the landscape of the associated gardens, parks and estates;
• Seminars on the research materials of country houses and landed estates;
• Excursions to country houses and field excursion to Middachten.

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Interdisciplinary character

De landhuizen werden gebouwd voor particuliere families om te recreëren gedurende de zomermaanden. Ze zijn omgeven door esthetisch aangelegde tuinen en parken, en economisch ingerichte landgoederen. Daarom heeft het vak een sterk interdisciplinair karakter. Het richt zich op:

The landed estates were built for private families to recreate during the summer months. They are surrounded by aesthetically constructed gardens and parks, and economically designed estates. That is why the subject has a strong interdisciplinary character. It focuses on:

• Residential history of the country houses;
• Architecture and interiors of the houses;
• Associated gardens, parks and estates.

Important cultural-historical heritage

Historic country houses and landed estates are a special type of cultural-historical heritage. Due to their size and wide distribution in the Netherlands, they are important carriers of the cultural landscape. Therefore, this chair has been established and is financed by the Van der Wyck-de Kempenaer Foundation.