Orange Route

In order to be able to hunt and compete with the country estates of other European monarchs, Stadtholder William III purchased the medieval hunting lodge Het Loo (now called 'Het Oude Loo') including surrounding buildings, forests, watercourses and farmlands at the end of the seventeenth century. Due to the international status of William III and his wife Mary Stuart, the palace and its gardens were expanded in the years that followed. After the death of the King and Governor, the palace was used by his successors as a hunting lodge and summer residence. The appearance of the palace has also changed due to the different residents that the palace has known over the hundreds of years. During a major restoration, the palace was restored to its original seventeenth-century state and subsequently opened as a museum in 1984.