Putten is a town in Gelderland province, located roughly in the middle of the Netherlands. According to Wikipedia it had a population of 24 148 in 2014. It is surrounded by farmsland.
One of the hotels in the area is the Best Western Premier Kasteel De Vanenburg. At the beginning of November 2016 I attended a conference there.
The hotel has an interesting history. The name Vaenenborch appeared the first time, in convent archives of 1389. At that time the estate and castle focused mainly on farming – the castle was inhabited and the estate housed an active farm. By the second half of the 17th century it became an estate used mainly for recreational purposes by the owners, although they still farmed on a small scale. The ‘castle’ was rebuilt in 1868. Thereafter it had various owners and was used, among other things, as a holiday destination and training school. Due to disrepair and modernisation it almost ceased to exist but in 1996 the hotel group came to its rescue and restored the former glory. Today it is a popular venue for team building programs, conferences and, of course, weddings. Believe me, it is a very romantic place! The estate of 55 hectares is surrounded by beautiful gardens. Interesting, exotic trees from all continents are grown there and they are well-marked for people who are interested in dendrology.
It was a great experience to see the environment in autumn colours and I could not decide what to photograph first! A visit to Putten and Kasteel De Vanenburg is definitely recommended.
