Dordwijk country estate lies in the hamlet of Dubbeldam, near Dordrecht. The estate, originally owned by the Van de Wall Repelaer family, comprises a historical vegetable garden, a park landscaped in English style, an orangery, a castle farm, and summer and winter quarters for the owners. In 1978, Dordwijk was sold to the Dutch state. The government initially planned to restore the derelict estate to its original glory but, due to lack of funds for what would be a very expensive project, it decided to give the estate ‘back to nature’.

In 1995 we succeeded in saving Dordwijk from ruin after all by taking on its restoration ourselves. Little by little, its garden, park and stables have been returned to their old splendour in a project that, in total, took over twenty years to complete. The result was worth all the effort: the Dutch Cultural Heritage Agency now counts Dordwijk as one of the best preserved small estates in our country.