Gemeenlandshuis van Delfland - Oranje route

COMMON LAND HOUSE OF DELFLAND

The wealthy sheriff Huyter was also a tenant of the hop dues. He was also at court and Emperor Charles V stayed with him when he visited Delft in 1541.

Because the De Huyter family collaborated with the Spaniards, the family was evicted in 1572 and the house was confiscated. They never got the house back.

Heeren Herberghe

After the De Huyter family left, the house briefly housed the Court of Holland. It then served as 's Heeren Herberghe, an inn for distinguished guests of the city and the States of Holland. 's Heeren Herberghe was the old name for a temporary lodge of the lord of the manor. Eventually, one of the guests of this lodging, army commander Count of Hohenlohe, bought it. He raised it to commander-in-chief of the State army and married Maria van Buren, the eldest daughter of William of Orange. The couple had 26 servants in this house, but quit Delft just a year after their marriage. Maria preferred to live at the family castle in Buren.

Shortly afterwards, the house was leased for some time to Emilia van Nassau, also a daughter of William of Orange, from his marriage to Anna of Saxony. Emilia acted as hostess at the court of her brother Maurice. There she met the Portuguese pretender to the throne Emanuel, whom she secretly married in 1598, much against Maurice's wishes. They had 10 children. The young couple took up residence in the Huyter House, but were eventually exiled and forbidden to appear at court. In 1645, the house was sold to the Delfland Water Board. The latter converted the now rather neglected building into the Water Board's Gemeenlandshuis for a considerable sum of money. Thanks to many renovations and extensions with surrounding properties and offices, it has remained so to this day.