The history of the country house

Landgoed Anna’s Parck was known earlier as Landgoed Anna’s Hoeve, a farmhouse and buildings located in Zijpe, on the Ruigeweg (which was at that time an unpaved country road alongside the old railway line between Alkmaar and Den Helder). The name Ananas is a bastardised form of Anna’s and is derived from the fact that at the time of the Dutch East India Company a land owner called Phillips Doublet bought the property in 1609 from the bankrupt inventory of Maarten Vinck. He named the “excelente Woninge” (excellent home) after his daughter and wife, and his wealthy father De Heer van Sint Annaland. The grounds were managed by the lady of the house and one of her daughters, who were both called Anna van Dam. So the name is derived from the lady farmers 'Anna's' and over the course of time this is generally come to be bastardised as Ananas. The natural woods that surrounded the idyllically located farm at that time, and which have clearly diminished in area, are known by many in the area as the Ananasbos. In 1699, “den buitenplaatsch” (country house) came into the possession of the “Van Streijen” Amsterdam Regent family. Jan Jacobszoon van Streijen made it into his summer residence, and used the country house next door “Wildrijk” for hunting, which still occurs to this day. In the years that follow, Landgoed Anna’s Hoeve grew considerably in size. In 1792, the country house comprised a very respectable 660 “morgen” (approximately 560 ha).

Via inheritance, the property eventually came into the possession of the family of the Graaf van Wassenaer and Mr van Twickel. After 1850, Anna’s Hoeve was no longer used as a country retreat, but continued to be a farm. Until well into the 20^th century it was a sort of recreation place for the powerful and rich of Amsterdam and reduced considerably in area. When the grounds eventually came into the possession of ‘t Hooge Huys in Alkmaar, the surrounding land was separated from the farm and was offered as a rental as agricultural land, and the farm with just under 2 ha was completely cut off from the surrounding land. After ‘t Hooge Huys was taken over by Reaal Verzekeringen, and then subsequently by ASR Verzekeringen, Anna’s Hoeve underwent rapid change. Since that time, the property has finally come into the possession of the Alkmaar businessmen Schopman and Dijkslag, via a short period of ownership by the previous owner, an antique dealer. These two gentlemen have been keen on restoring the history of the farm and have returned its exterior to a large extent to its original condition, as intended by the “Hooghe Huys”.

Because the name Anna’s Hoeve is frequently to be found amongst Dutch country houses and is also to be found as such on the Internet, we have chosen the name “Landgoed Anna’s Parck”, referring to its once large area and the anna’s woods that once belonged to it, now Ananas Bos.