On a sunny Thursday evening, René and I sat down for a digital conversation about country estates, the importance of preservation, and why places like Wester‑Amstel matter more than ever.
René is an art historian; he worked for many years as a cultural entrepreneur and founded the Foundation for Castles, (Historic) Country Estates and Country Houses (stichting Kastelen, Historische Buitenplaatsen en Landgoederen) in 2014. And he has been a friend and supporter of Wester-Amstel for years.
Join us in this conversation and gain insight into the perspective of a man whose passion is to ensure that Dutch castles, historic country estates, and houses of the Netherlands remain as integral to the future of the Netherlands as they have always been to its past.
Taylor Blades: René, to begin with, could you introduce yourself to our readers?
René Dessing: My name is René Dessing. I am an art historian, and for a large part of my life I have worked as a cultural entrepreneur. I built my businesses from my own creativity and have in fact never had a traditional job.
For twenty years, from 1988 until 2006, I led the cultural organisation Artifex, based in Amsterdam. Together with a team of ten to twelve art historians, we organised cultural programmes and day excursions throughout the Netherlands. We did this for magazines, conferences, and companies with an interest in art, architecture, or culture.
In 2006 I sold Artifex, and at the same time, moved to the beautiful historic country estate Huis te Manpad in Heemstede. I always refer to Huis te Manpad as an Amsterdam country estate, because its origins are tied to the prosperity of the city’s merchants in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Many of these merchants purchased large tracts of land around Amsterdam and built their country estates there. Wester-Amstel is a good example of this.
Taylor: Besides residing in one yourself, where does your love of country estates stem from? What makes them so important to you?
René: In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, there were likely thousands of country estates in the Netherlands. Today, there are only around 545 examples of these left that are in good or pristine condition. And when I say “well‑kept”, I mean places where the house, garden, green spaces, estate and outbuildings together still form a coherent whole.
It became particularly clear to me while living in Heemstede that many Dutch people no longer knew what the word country estate (buitenplaatsen) really meant. This gap in knowledge was also causing more and more misunderstandings between owners on the one hand and the public and the authorities on the other.
And it was precisely because I lived in a country estate myself that I developed a clear understanding of the purpose of Dutch country estates. Namely, that they are places to experience the changing seasons, to enjoy outdoor living, and the beauty of nature. That is something I wanted to share with others.
Taylor: Is this what led to the Year of the Historic Country Estate?
René: Exactly. In 2012, I joined forces with others to launch the Year of the Historic Country Estate , with the aim of putting these places back on the public agenda. Søren served as treasurer during this campaign. I was chairman of the foundation, and together with other board members and numerous volunteers, we ensured that the year was a success.
The year proved to be a great success. Several provinces began developing policies and grant schemes aimed at preserving these places. The needs of historic Dutch country estates were increasingly recognised and real momentum and progress began to take shape.
Taylor: And the Foundation for Castles, Historic Country Estates and Country Houses (sKBL) grew out of this momentum?
René: Yes. In February of 2014, I founded sKBL. One of our first actions was to create a central website that listed as many country estates as possible.
Although I compiled the National Guide to Historic Country Estates (Nationale gids Historische Buitenplaatsen) together with Jan Holwerda, which lists all such estates, there was virtually no information about them available online.
I asked several sKBL volunteers to help with the project and within nine months we launched our website with 350 country estates featured on it. It was the first time such a digital overview had existed in the Netherlands, making it a historic moment.
Fast forward to today, and sKBL operates on a national level. We do not work for just one place; we support all the estates across the country.
Taylor: What does sKBL strive to do?
René: These days, country estates face many challenges: climate change, infrastructure pressures, and a lack of understanding among governments and communities about the meaning of these places. There are also social prejudices. Many people still see estates as “places for the rich”, and that idea causes them to lose interest.
But if you see a country estate as a work of art, you experience it very differently. In reality, country estates are places of sustainability, beauty, and harmony. They are true treasures in a world that is constantly rushing forward.
With this in mind, the aim of sKBL is essentially to encourage people to look at these places, discover them, treat them with respect and help preserve them for the future. We want to raise public awareness and foster appreciation for the future care of these country estates. I think it’s important that people know what sKBL is and what we stand for.
We therefore warmly invite friends of Wester‑Amstel to visit our website, sign up for our digital newsletter, follow our work on social media and, if they feel so inclined, support sKBL as a private donor.
If you appreciate Wester‑Amstel, you will also appreciate all the other country estates, as they are all beautiful and rich in character and history.
Taylor: How does sKBL work to make country estates more visible and accessible?
René: We organise a range of activities. For our donors and friends, we hold study days and organise programmes from time to time. We also publish a digital newsletter.
We also publish books on a regular basis. For around eleven years now, we have been awarding the sKBL Ithaka Prize: a prize of €5,000 for a publication on a castle, historic country estate or house, or related topics. In 2022, for example, Gerrit van Oosterom won this prize for his dissertation Boeren op de Buitenplaats. His research focuses on the area that includes Wester-Amstel.
We also have another initiative in which we invite a writer or journalist to spend a few days as a writer-in-residence at a country estate. They then share their experience through a newspaper article, an interview, or another form of publication.
All of these initiatives are done with one clear purpose: to reach out to people and remind them that we must not forget these special places, and that we must preserve them.
Taylor: How does your background as an art historian shape the way you view these estates?
René: As an art historian, I naturally began with art itself, but over time I came to see more and more clearly just how much art is actually inspired by nature. Still‑lifes, flowers, landscapes – so much of it is rooted in nature. Over the course of my life, I have come to realise that nature itself is the true art.
That is how I see country estates: as works of art, but not ones made solely of materials. They are living pieces, created with trees, plants, paths, benches and many other elements that come together to form something harmonious and beautiful. As gesamtkunstwerke – total works of art – they are incredibly valuable, but also very vulnerable. Therefore, I believe we must protect them and invest all our care, commitment and resources in preserving them for future generations.
I am happiest when I am simply part of nature, and that is where I invest my energy.
Taylor: Who do you see as your current audience? Are younger generations interested in these historic properties?
René: Most of our volunteers, perhaps as many as 15,000 across the Netherlands, are people aged 65 or 70 and older. They are the ones maintaining all these beautiful gardens and historic estates.
So, while younger generations talk a great deal about nature conservation and sustainability, you rarely see them at the estates. How does that happen? Where does it go wrong? Why is there no real connection between younger people and these old estates?
Perhaps it is a matter of energy, or life stage, or perhaps there are prejudices involved as well. You never really know.
But what I do know is that for many volunteers, spending one day a week working in a garden or being surrounded by this kind of environment brings a great deal of joy. There are many people in our world, young and old, who suffer from a whirlwind of emotions and thoughts. And you know what? All of that disappears in places like Wester-Amstel. These places can help people to slow down and find that sense of calm again.
That is a powerful thing. And I hope that through interviews like this, younger people might also be encouraged to take a closer look and engage with these places.
Taylor: You’ve spoken about challenges. Are these different from when you first started sKBL?
René: Some challenges are new, others not so much. Climate change and water management are very much top of mind. New housing developments are putting additional pressure on the landscape, while heritage policy remains highly decentralised across the country.
Country estates are fortunate in provinces like Utrecht, Gelderland, or South Holland, while awareness elsewhere can be much lower. Twelve provinces, twelve different policies… And that is dangerous. We need less politics, and more common sense.
Taylor: Looking back to the Year of the Historic Country Estate and the years that followed, how are things looking?
René: There was a major, positive shift at the time. We are now twelve years on, though, and I believe we need another year like that. There are still many needs across the entire heritage and monument world, and there is always the question of funding.
That said, country estates are certainly more recognised and more visible in 2026 than they were before. In most cases, the quality of restoration is acceptable. But you should not underestimate the effort it takes to maintain that level – the work required from volunteers, owners, and the financial investment involved. It is a constant struggle to keep everything at that standard.
At the same time, the political climate is changing. There are many worries in the world, and in that context, issues relating to gardens and estates are often seen as minor or secondary. But these places provide comfort, especially in times like these. They are deeply comforting. These houses and landscapes are full of that feeling. And in fact, the more tension there is in the world, the more their value increases.
Taylor: On a more personal note: when you visit an estate, what do you notice first? And what is your impression of Wester‑Amstel?
René: I always see these houses, these country estates, as ensembles. They form a complete unity. I tend to notice the old trees first, which are such an important feature of many country estates. I have a great fondness for old trees.
I really appreciate the relationship between architecture and the surrounding greenery. Sometimes there is also a rich interior that I enjoy. And I am always drawn to mature plants, flower beds, and those kinds of details.
What brings me particular joy at Wester‑Amstel is the strong, positive, and warm energy of the place. That is something you immediately sense when you are there. This is, of course, down to the professional management of Wester-Amstel and the care and attention shown by all the volunteers. You feel that it is a place people truly love and a place people come to because they feel a connection to it. It’s a special atmosphere that not every country estate has.
Text by: Taylor Blades