Photo: Dudok Architectuur Centrum
The house with the columns is the oldest existing villa in Hilversum. In 1836 Johannes van der Linden, cashier in Amsterdam, had a country estate constructed on a site on ‘s-Gravelandseweg. The completion of the grand house was an important event in the village. During the inaugural feast, the legendary notary Albertus Perk toasted, among other things, with the following words: At last, better days were dawning for this region: thou, noble founder of Lindenheuvel, has made that disturbed shadow recoil, lifted that spell of sterility, beauty, life and conviviality, given to this place.
In 1880 the grounds of the country estate were auctioned. The new owner Christiaan van Lennep had the house demolished brick by brick and rebuilt in a slightly modified form on a piece of land on the corner of Boomberglaan and Peerlkamplaan. The house fitted in well with the Zocherian environment of plastered romantic villas among the greenery. Probably the architect and landscape gardener J.D. Zocher Jr. (1791-1870) the designer of the old Lindenheuvel. During the restoration of the villa in 1998, not only traces of recycled building material were found, but also a unique frieze with decorations, executed in the sgraffito technique. In this technique, the scenes are cut out in a few different colored plaster layers. Black classical elements such as amphorae and garlands were cut on a terracotta background. Striking is the graceful letter L, which was applied to the amphorae. This may refer to the builder.
Just as the inauguration of the Lindenheuvel country estate in 1836 was an important event in the village, the ‘s-Gravelandseweg was even lit up with grease pots, so the house with the columns is still one of the most appealing to the historical imagination, especially after restoration. beloved villas in Hilversum.
Source: Annette Koenders, Hilversum. Architectuur en Stedenbouw 1850-1940, Zwolle (2001).
Peerlkamplaan 18-20, Hilversum