History lives in the Maas Valley

Despite being a powerful politician, a warrior and a governor of Maastricht, Baron van Dopff (1650-1718) is best remembered as the creator of the splendid terrace gardens of Chateau Neercanne, which were planned as a fairground for van Dopff’s important guests, such as the Russian Tzar, Peter the Great.

A great admirer of the Low Lands Peter the Great was eager to learn from, copy and surpass the Dutch. According to some, the idea of the illustrious terrace gardens at his summer residence “Peterhof,” was conceived in Neercanne.

But 300 years later nothing but a legend was left. The Castle itself was being used as a beer brewery when one man’s passion led to the rebirth of the faded masterpiece.

Camille Oostwegel, the owner and restaurateur of the place, eagerly shares his memories.

First, the Castle was returned to its original function as a luxurious place of entertainment - a top-level restaurant.

One day, Oostwegel saw a drawing of the gardens of Chateau Neercanne in an old book: “That was the moment I knew they had existed”. Soon afterwards, Oostwegel initiated the “Foundation of the Gardens of Neercanne” (1989) and commissioned the archaeological research of the Delft Technical University.

“The research was successful right from the start - we got an enormous amount of evidence that the gardens existed,” says Oostwegel. “So I started to think about the next stage - the restoration itself. During the signing of the Maastricht Treaty I held a reception for important guest among whom the late French President Francois Mitterrand”.

Oostwegel organised an exhibition of garden architecture in the Chateau and Francois Mitterrand took an interest in the project: “That was the time when [Mitterrand] started the restoration of the Versailles. He also promised to support my plan. That was the beginning of a new chapter”.

The gardens of Neercanne became world famous in 1995 when a UNESCO conference was organised. Architects from all over the world came to Maastricht to discuss the possible ways of restoring the gardens.

Among them was the chief architect of the Versailles restoration, Pierre-André Lablaude. “I turned to him for a piece of advice”, says Oostwegel. “What is the best plan of restoration? He asked me what I felt. I was for the complete historical restoration with plants, statues and fountains. He agreed that that was the best”.

The profile that UNESCO gave Chateau Neercanne, as unique terraced gardens in The Netherlands, helped to raise the necessary funds to start the work. The four terraces came to life as if touched by a magic wand.

“The drawings on the original etching were so small, about half an inch, that it was not clear if the female goddess was Flora or Diana. But finally it was Flora” says Russian sculptor Alexandre Taratynov, who participated in revival of Neercanne and cast all the sculptures in Russia.

Since 1998, Mr. Oostwegel has invited Maastricht Gallery Bell’Arte to create con- temporary sculpture exhibitions. In six years, more than 50 international artists have presented their works.

Emile Cornelis, the owner of the gallery, considers the gardens to be a unique space for European sculptures. “All the artists are completely charmed by the place, especially the Italians. I think there is hardly an art amateur left in Rome ignorant of the existence of Neercanne”.

By Anja Vvedenskaya

Source: Crossroads print issue, December 2004