Waiting in style – The Royal Waiting Rooms at Baarn




baarn koninklijke wachtkamer
(Photo by Moniek Bloks)

Royals should always travel in style, and so they should also be able to wait in style. The Dutch Railways has several royal waiting rooms, including at Amsterdam Central and The Hague HS. The city of Baarn wasn’t a royal destination but it was the gateway to Soestdijk Palace. This waiting room was presumably designed by L. van Gendt who also helped to design Amsterdam Central Station. Prince Henry – brother of King William III of the Netherlands and husband of Amalia of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach and Marie of Prussia – originally wanted to have a station right by Soestdijk but the King himself did not have a station at his own palace and so his brother – a mere prince – could not have one for his palace. And so, the royal waiting rooms were installed at Baarn.

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The waiting room has two rooms, a smaller room with a toilet and a large salon. The Dutch Railways now owns the waiting rooms and has restored them to their former glory. On the ceiling, several layers of paints have been exposed to show how the rooms must have looked over the years.

The waiting rooms are, however, only open for viewing on certain days. The likeliness of the rooms at Baarn being used has gone up a bit since Princess Beatrix now lives nearby.






About Moniek Bloks 2676 Articles
My name is Moniek and I am from the Netherlands. I began this website in 2013 because I wanted to share these women's amazing stories.

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