Home / Architecture / Architecture Hilversum / Interwar period /Wolfsdreuvik

Wolfsdreuvik
1938 / J. Rebel

Smithuyserbos

Wolfsdreuvik, a municipal monument that is somewhat hidden in the Smithuyserbos, was built in 1938 by order of D.P.R.A. Bouvy (1915-1993), owner of the estate. It is also known as the smallest ‘country estate’ in Hilversum. ‘Wolfsdreuvik’ evokes the atmosphere of fairy tales. Traces of a Hessenweg can still be discovered on the estate, a trade route with northern Germany from the 17th century. The estate is largely open to the public.

Estate Smithuyserbos

The Smithuyserbos is located southeast of Hilversum. The forest was part of the ‘primordial forest’, the Erfgooiersbos. In 1836 the forest was parceled out and two years later Pieter Johannes Smithuysen, an Amsterdam broker in tobacco, acquired the area. Smithuysen planted the site, which also bears his name since 1911, with conifers and native oaks on the edge. After his death, the entire forest was cut down, but before the turn of the century the site was replanted with pines and deciduous trees by then owner Hugo Van den Wal Blake. In 1937 the Amsterdam art historian and founder and director of Museum Het Catharijne Convent in Utrecht became D.P.R.A. (Desiré) Bouvy owns the estate. Bouvy restored and rejuvenated the neglected forest.

Medieval

In 1938, the owner had a building built in the forest that was intended as a storage place for forest material and as a daycare center with a lookout tower. It came to rest on a small ridge next to a pool nearly seven meters below. The building was designed by the Laren architect Jan Rebel (1885-1961). His work mainly consisted of houses, villas and country houses.

Wolfsdreuvik, as the building was called and which means ‘wolf hill’, is a medieval-looking brick building consisting of two parts. The largest part contains a kitchen, yacht/living room and roof terrace. This main building is flanked by a narrow, high tower that initially served as a lookout, until the trees obscured the view.

Stained glass

Stained glass windows by the Nijmegen glazier Ben Hofstee have been installed in the living room. The images on the left and right windows are of St. Hubertus, patron saint of hunting, and St. Barbara, one of the early Christians. Her father locked her up in a tower because of her faith. The building in the background is the Wolfsdreuvik. In the middle window is the family crest of the Bouvy family.

Stichting Smithuyserbos

Bouvy owned the estate until his death. In 1991 he founded the Smithuyserbos Foundation with the aim of preserving the Smithuyserbos and the Wolfsdreuvik building. The foundation is involved in small-scale forest management and organizing tours and lectures. In the fairytale castle that appeals to the imagination, various TV recordings have been made for the children’s series “Lost in the Game” and “Mees Kees”.