Catshuis
The Catshuis (originally Huis Sorghvliet ), located on Scheveningseweg in The Hague in the Netherlands , has been the official residence of the Dutch Prime Minister and the government's reception center since 1963 .
The representative rooms for state and work visits as well as other important receptions for the Prime Minister are located on the ground floor. The building services, sanitary facilities and the kitchen are housed in the basement. The fully furnished official apartment, which the Prime Minister can use privately, is on the upper floor. The Catshuis is one of the properties of the Dutch Ministry of Algemene Zaken (comparable to the Federal Chancellery ).
history
The house was built on Landgoed Sorghvliet by Jacob Cats (1577-1660), a Dutch poet and politician . Cats took Huis Sorghvliet , as he called it, into use on July 14, 1652. Originally the house did not have an upper floor. A farm used to stand on the site, the residential building of which was processed in the left part of the house.
In 1675 the estate came into the possession of Hans Willem Bentinck , valet of the future governor of the Netherlands Wilhelm III. In 1738 his son Willem Bentinck had a bell tower with a bronze bell placed on the roof of Catshuis. The house had a beehive , which was rebuilt at the end of the 20th century and is now called Bentincks Bijenstal (Bentick's beehive).
In the 18th century the extensive gardens and zoo of Sorghvliet were well known. They were comparable to the palace gardens of the royal palace Het Loo . In the 19th century the gardens, arcades, fountains and the orangery were replaced by lawns.
Refurbishment 1999 to 2004
As the Catshuis, on which nothing had been changed since 1963, no longer met the structural requirements, renovation work began in 1999. The events of September 11, 2001 added an additional dimension to security requirements. The cost of the renovation was around 15 million euros. During the renovation work, the Catshuis was not available for residential purposes or representative receptions.
At the end of January 2004 it became known that the building authority, the Rijksgebouwendienst , had illegally demolished antique chimneys and ceilings during the renovation work.
Fire in May 2004
On May 15, 2004, a fire broke out during the work. A large part of the ground floor burned out, other parts of the building suffered smoke and water damage. A painter died as a result of the fire.
During the time of the Dutch EU Council Presidency in 2004, the building could not be used due to the damage. Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende wanted to receive a distinguished visitor here.
An investigation by the Koninklijke Marechaussee and Arbeidsinspectie showed that the painters worked with thinner . Such solvents have not been allowed to be used indoors since 2000. A court in The Hague sentenced the painting company to a fine for violating the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Then the judge said verbatim:
"Het kan dan ook haast niet different zijn geweest dan dat naast suspected ook de betrokken ambtenaren van de Rijksgebouwendienst en het Ministerie van Algemene Zaken van het gebruik van thinner door suspected op de hoogte moeten zijn geweest."
“It can hardly have been otherwise than that in addition to the defendant, the officials of the Rijksgebouwendienst (Reich Building Service ) and the Ministerie van Algemene Zaken (Ministry of General Affairs) must have been aware of the defendant's use of solvents. "
In 2008, information from fire expert Peter Reijman and an investigation by the Dutch police revealed irregularities. Important documents relating to the fire in the Catshuis were in the archives of the Chief Public Prosecutor. In the Dutch media in 2009 this was portrayed as a cover-up scandal.
In use 2006
In the meantime, the Catshuis has been reopened as an informal meeting place for the government on September 11th, 2006 without causing a stir.
Web links
- Catshuis In: rijksoverheid.nl (Dutch)
Individual evidence
Coordinates: 52 ° 5 ′ 24 ″ N , 4 ° 17 ′ 5 ″ E