Discover the Hoge Berg

The Brakestein manor house dates from the seventeenth century. It is named after the Braeck family, who lived there for many years. Jan Pietersz. Braeck was a representative of the Admiralty. Officers met at Brakestein to discuss upcoming missions when the war fleet was anchored on the Texel Roads.

Renaissance garden

The house has a large garden, complete with footpaths, orchard, vegetable garden, garden moat and statues. Antique documents praised the quality of the fruit grown here. The garden was designed in the style of the Dutch renaissance. Even now, it is one of the best kept gardens from that period.

Den Berger

Leendert den Berger bought the manor in 1786 and lived there until his death in 1802. As a supervisor, he was responsible for water management from Texel to Terschelling. Den Berger made many improvements to the garden without making concessions to the original design. He also installed wooden panelling indoors and modernized the way the house was decorated.

Decline

In the nineteenth century, the Den Berger family sold the house to a new owner. There was little money for the maintenance of the house and garden. The trees in the garden got out of hand and the moats clogged up. The house was in such bad repair that it was used as a storage place for some time. Eventually, part of the house had to be demolished. Only the front and side facade remained standing: behind that a new, smaller house was built.

Traditional barn

Until 1895, a complete traditional farm building stood next to the manor house. This however also fell into ruin and had to be demolished. In its place, a new barn was built in traditional style. The house and barn were both part of the manor. Tenant farmers kept cows and sheep there and this provided a steady source of income for the owners. The situation has now changed and the house and traditional barn are owned by different parties.

Restoration

Despite Brakestein’s rich history, it ‘only’ had the status of municipal listed monument. After extensive garden history and architectural research, the manor was declared a national listed monument in 2021. Restoration of the manor began in 2020.

Own website

The owners of the manor keep track of the progress of the restoration on their own (Dutch) website.