OTTERTRACKS (Ottersporen)

07 - The house Otterspoor

In the golden (17th) century many wealthy merchants took up residence alongside the rivers Vecht and Amstel. They had the most beautiful country houses built with beautifully layed out gardens after French model, decorated with fountains, ponds and ornaments like tea domes (summer houses) and arches.

Many Drawers have put these delightful places on paper and copperplates (etches). (07.1)

In 1846  Otterspoor was discribed as a countryhouse in the ‘Nederkwartier’ of the  Province Utrecht, 2,5 hours northwest from Utrecht, a half hour north from Maarssen and an hour southwest from Tienhoven on the river Vecht, property of C. Verloop.

I take it, that this must have been the walking distance. (07.2)

Otterspoor was build in 1643 as a simple farmhouse and was situated on the east bank of the River Vecht, north of Maarssen-village, Zandpad 28.

An engraving made between 1650 and 1654, that shows many dwellings, farms and buildings on the eastside of the Vecht from the  “Heerlijcheit (gloriousness) from Maarsseveen” , shows the simple farmhouse. (07.3)

The farmhouse Otterspoor got known through the country in 1673 because of an attack near the farmhouse from thirteen persons from the Prince on the canalboat from Breukelen, in which a Frenchman and two farmers were killed and a deckhand was seriously wounded.

Four culprits were sentenced to death, one had all his bones broken while alive and three were hanged. Two prostitutes were flogged because of stolen property they got from the attack. (07.5)

 Between 1673 and 1719 the house was converted into a country house. A picture of it can be seen in the book ‘de zegepralende Vecht’ from 1719. The garden is then changed into a French landscape garden, that reaches up to the Brook ‘Zogwetering” The present entrance gate is not pictured here yet. . (07.3)

It is Jacob van Lennep the young (1667 – 1741), a baptism inclined textile merchant (cloth merchant) from Amsterdam, who almost certain had the farmhouse converted into a beautiful country house.

It is stated that he named it Otterspoor after the Otterspoor polder on the other side of the River Vecht. This cannot be right, as the farmhouse was already named Otterspoor in 1673. Jacob van Lennep referred to himself as ‘from Otterspoor’.

Another owner was the known Vecht painter Nico Bastert.

His parents were married at Otterspoor and he was born there in 1854. (07.6)

View over the Vecht of the Countryseat Otterspoor near Maarsenveen date 1710-1719,  (07.3)

View on the big pond in the garden of the Countryseat Otterspoor on the Vecht near Maarseveen. date 1710-1719, (07.3)

View from the rear cabinet over the main axle in the garden of the Countryseat Otterspoor on the Vecht near Maarseveen date 1710-1719 (07.3).

The entrance gate in Barokstyle was built between 1720 and 1730.

The pilasters from this gate are from sandstone on a Belgian granite base and are crowned by a closed vase from the same material. On both sides of these vases beautiful masks are chisseled.  Front- and backside show cartouches on which coming from the road through the gate on the left a bust can be seen from Hercules and on the right a woman with a loose hanging gown. The cast Iron – balusters are decorated with  Marot patterns (07.3).

Entrance gate former Otterspoor, Zandpad 27

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The Vecht area  Museum Maarssen has a vase in the collection with an illustration of Otterspoor dated 15 August 1851.

There are several images from the design from tilescenes known from vieuws along the River Vecht, one of them is from Otterspoor, it is found in the Rotterdam Yearbook 1921,  page 106 (drawing in blue) .  It is accredited to the Rotterdam Tile bakery “the Flowerpot”.  The tilescene measures 8 by 10 tegels.

The Victoria and Albert Museum in Londen bought two Tilescenes at the end of  1864, one of them is the Tilescene from Otterspoor. (07.7)

1n the poem about the  estates along the River Vecht “Speelreis langs de Vechtstroom”, published in the book the triumphant Vecht (de zegepralende Vecht) Claas Bruin writes an ode to Otterspoor;

But how your standing delights my senses,

O OTTERSPOOR! O jewel of the Vecht!

Who would not adore your settlement?

If I were to show a sketch of every part

I would get lost

In such a  maze of pleasure

Here your lord can fill his heart

Surely, he would not exchange

this pure taste of lust for Kingdoms.

1n the 2nd half of the 19th century the once so beautiful estate started to fall into decay.

In 1860  Edward Huijdecoper from Nigtevecht, occupant and owner from Gansenhoef, bought big parts of the vast garden of Otterspoor.

About 1870  Otterspoor was demolished and later in about the same place a new country house was built (now Zandpad 28) (07.3)

nieuw landhuis

The still remaining entrance gate former Otterspoor now belongs to the bungalow  Zandpad 27.

Agnes Otterspoor-Uitgeest takes a picture from the bungalow Zandpad 27 with the former entrance gate from Otterspoor, on the left the new country house Otterspoor,  Zandpad 28 (built about 1890)

The history of the estate Otterspoor does not end here.

In the beginning of the 20th century the country house was named villa Maria Hendrika.

During the years it underwent many convertions and ended with an office function.  

First for the Amateur stage Foundation and later, untill 2008 office for the software company Paralax, specialised in staff duty rotas software. (07.6)

Nice detail is, that years ago  –from my specialist knowledge in this area – I was part of a committee from the Office of Justice Institutions to review one of their software programs.

The 29th January 2003 (dealt with 31 January 2005) the owner of  Zandpad 28 and 28a, Mr. Samuel Cornelis Meijering put in a request with the Council  from Maarssen for a change of the area buildingplan to be able to demolish the house 28a, to replace it with an Orangery. His aim was to restore the estate Otterspoor into its old glory.

Samuel Meijering born Zelhem, 15/9/1944 was a versatile man, filmdirector, scenariowriter, inventor and bussinessman. His most known invention was the Rolykit (I still have one) One of his companies was Otterspoor Producties B.V., a filmproduction supporting company.

His intention to restore Otterspoor to it’s former glory did not materialise as he died of a heart attack the 21th of May 2006 in the coach house.  (07.8)

Samuel Meijering was not the only person who was fascinated by the former estate Otterspoor.

In 2008 the country house was bought by a young family, Jan and Jet Suemeren,  they had the same Ideas. They bought several parcels of land to be able to get the old Otterspoor into the original state including the gardens.

In 2009/2010 the building Otterspoor was fully restored in it’s original state.

The garden will be fully restored into the old landscape style.

A new Coach House and Orangery are in the planning. (07.6)

(07.6) Otterspoor restored

New entrance gate Otterspoor

The former farmhouse that preceded the estate already was named Otterspoor in 1673. So it may well be possible that the farmhouse was named Otterspoor when it was built in 1643. The name could have been taken from the area Otterspoor on the other side of the  Vecht. However, it is also possible that there was a farmer Otterspoor who rented the farm or had it built. In that time the Otterspoors allready were established farmers in the area. The estate Otterspoor must have kept the name.

 It is possible that not all the information is 100 % correct. Mainly the entrance  gate from the former estate Otterspoor has been discribed differently, Is said to be a different housenumber and is also said to belong to the estate Hoogevecht.