Huize Frankendael

Huize Frankendael is a country estate in Amsterdam, with a red-brick house, an English-style garden and adjoining Park Frankendael. The main house is a protected national heritage monument. Its interiors follow Louis XIV style, while four early-eighteenth-century statues stand before the façade.

The original building probably dates from 1659 and reached its present appearance after expansion around 1733. Izaak Balde gave the estate its name in 1695. He took it from Frankenthal near Worms, where his Protestant grandfather had found refuge. In 1783, architect Jacob Otten Husly designed the entrance gate, while a marble fountain arrived from near Weesp in 1770. The Nederlandsche Tuinbouw Maatschappij Linnaeus acquired the property in 1866 and converted its rooms into offices. From 1927 to 1956, the gardens hosted summer open-air theatre.

Ben Merkelbach directed its restoration in the early 1950s, and his descendants lived there until 2004. His stepdaughter Cecilia Lichtveld was the final resident. The carriage house contains Restaurant Merkelbach, while the house accommodates exhibitions, workshops, weddings and presentations. Archaeologists found possible orangery foundations in the backyard in 2008.