Location: Hoofdweg 30- 32, Slochteren, Groningen Map
Constructed: 16th century
Tel. 0598 421 568
Open:
Mar- Dec 10am- 5pm Tue- Fri 1pm- 5pm Sat & Sun
Fraeylemaborg Castle is a former medieval granary that was turned
into a private residence surrounded by over 20 hectares of beautiful
park. Fraeylemaborg Castle is situated in a town of Slochteren,
Groningen province of Netherlands. Despite its name Fraeylemaborg
Castle was never a real castle in military strategic point of view.
It was made up of several buildings filled with grain protected by
towers against possible robbers.
Fraeylemaborg Castle was turned into a private residence in the 16th
century by the Fraeylema family who also gave their house its
current name. In the 17th centuries the manor got its left wing and
an extensive park that measured over 20 hectares of land.
Fraeylemaborg Castle was modelled after French Versailles
constructed by Louis XIV of France it contained sculptures, meadows,
flowers and other features. Today Fraeylemaborg Castle is open to
the public.
Building history research in 2004 showed that the current deposit
must have been built before 1300 as a stone house, or a fortified
house next to a manor house. In the chronicle of Bloemhof, around
1290, two noble families from this area are mentioned: Snelgera van
Scharmer and Haiginga (or Haginga) van Slochteren. The latter name
can be associated with the Hoijnga or Heringe clauwe, the
neighborhood where the deposit was located. At that time there was a
family in Hellum called Frouwamonna. The first certain mention of
the Fraeylemaborg dates from around 1400. In the first half of the
15th century, the Fralema heerd van Remet Fraijlumma (with 6 deimt
land in dijck medt) and lands intha Fralema waldum, in Fralima
waldum, are discussed. or butha Fralumma waldum (owned by Edze
Tuwinga in Ten Post), inda Fralema tijucha, in Fraijkema were, in
Fralandt, near Frama and in the Frama venne. A large part of these
lands were located near the Schildmeer. The aforementioned Remmert
Frouwama was one of the representatives of the Slochterzijlvest in
1444; a certain Lummo Fraijlima in Slochteren is mentioned in 1422.
The place name Froombosch is perhaps derived from the family name
Fraeylema.
The name Fraeylema is probably the Old German first name * Frauja-
'lord', Old Dutch * Fra-, which we find in the gods names Freyr and
Freya, here in a (male) diminutive form with the ending -la or -lin.
More well-known is the feminine form Frouwa, in the sense of
'distinguished woman, mistress, consort', with the Frisian
diminutive form Frauk (e), Old Dutch Frowekin. The first name -ma
('-men, family group') was then linked to this first name. The
surname Froma is probably related to this. The linguist Jan Naarding
points to the possibility that it may have been the descendants of a
frana or schout who would have once exercised authority over
Duurswold on behalf of the count. Although the etymology of the word
frana as "on behalf of the lord belonging to the lord" gives some
reason for this, other researchers have certainly rejected this
idea.
It is possible that four brick houses in Slochteren, Ten Post,
Godlinze and Losdorp were owned by the same family. The name Fra (e)
yl (e) ma, Frouwama or Fraelma occurs in different places in the
15th and 16th centuries:
the Fraaimaheerd farm (Medenweg 5) at Ten Post (kelp game
Wittewierum), formerly also known as Frailmaheerd or Fraylemahuis
and presumably identical to the Eltken steenhuus offte heer in the
hamlet of Oldersum and the stone house to Aldersum, which is
mentioned around 1400. The residents of this stone house previously
played an important role in public administration and probably
descended from a leading family from the mining period
de Lyummenheerd in Siboldeweer (Sybelweer or Sybaldeweer) northwest
of Krewerd (belonging to the Sibolda claw in the Godlinze play),
named after Lumme Fraeijlema and subsequently owned by Remmert
Fraelma (1446) and Remmert Fraylma (1504; possibly grandfather and
grandson)
de Fraylemaheerd northeast of the church of Losdorp
de Frouwemaheerd under the Eesterrecht in Eenumerhoogte, until 1499
owned by a certain Popke Herema, who also owned a land in the
vicinity of Froombosch
the Frouwama house in Huizinge, mentioned in 1371; it is probably
identical with the borg Fraam, formerly also known as Feradema or
Fradema. This guarantor also gave its name to the hamlet of
Fraamklap or Frowingatil. A certain Rodolphus Frawama is mentioned
in 1403
the Framaheerd under Grijssloot near Leens, formerly also called
Frademaheerd or Olt Frama, belonged to the same family as the borg
Fraam te Huizinge
de Froukemaheerd in Ezinge
In 1465 there is again a noble gentleman in
Slochteren who is called the Fraeylemaheerd. That year, Ebbe
Sluchtinge handed over half of this to Aywet and Duirt Alberda in
exchange for lands at Bierum. At the beginning of the 16th century,
several members of the Fraylema van Berum family were chieftains in
Slochteren, including Remmert Fraylma. It is unclear whether the
Lumme Fraelmaheerd mentioned in 1504 as the Remmert Fraylma property
is the same as the Lyummenheerd in Siboldeweer or whether it
concerns the Fraeylemaborg in Slochteren. In any case, the
Fraeylemaborg in the 16th century is in the hands of this Fraylma
family. But not always: In 1500, when the Gelderse Wars raged,
Fraeylema was occupied by the city residents for a while. In 1505,
Count Edzard I of East Frisia had a log house built on the east side
of the church near the stone house. These actions were related to
the strategic importance of the location in Duurswold on the road
from the city of Groningen to Appingedam, the two Oldambts and the
German countries (in particular Westphalia).
In between, the aforementioned Remmert Fraylma was the chieftain of
Slochteren in 1504. He is also mentioned later, until 1527. In 1538
his son Oesebrandt is mentioned as chief. He also owned three people
in Bierum. He was last mentioned in 1540. His daughter married Seino
Rengers, so that half of the deposit came to the Rengers family
through inheritance. They bought the other half for 550 Emder
guilders.
1548 - 1690
Seino’s great-grandson Osebrandt Johan Rengers was a powerful squire
in the Ommelanden in the early seventeenth century. Accused of
treason during the Siege of Groningen, he came to jail. A son-in-law
of Rengers, Henric Piccardt, achieved a reconciliation through
Willem III of Orange. Rengers was restored to its former glory but
died soon after. His son died in 1681 or 1682, after which the
surety transferred to his brother Evert. Mr Henric Piccardt, who was
married to Osebrandt's daughter Anna Elisabeth in 1680, became the
guardian of Evert. Because Evert had to sell his assets in 1690 due
to debts, Piccardt bought the deposit with annexes and lands for
47,000 guilders. He had borrowed money for this from the
king-stadholder in the form of a mortgage on the Fraeylemaborg.
1690 - 1781
Financial difficulties forced the Piccardt family to sell the
Fraeylemaborg in 1781. The buyer of the more than 30 years neglected
deposit was Mr. Hendrik de Sandra Veldtman. It was the first time in
the history of the guarantor that it was sold outside the family.
The Sandra Veldtman was an active member of the Lodge L'Union
Provinciale and was strongly addressed by Freemasonry Symbolism. He
had the garden adjusted and applied various freemason symbols; among
other things, paths were laid in the form of a compass and a square.
1781 - 1972
After the death of his first wife, De Sandra Veldtman was remarried
in 1786 to the widow of Arnhem mayor Jan Nanning van der Hoop,
Adelgonda Christine Wolthers. Together they had a daughter in 1789,
Hermanna Louise Christina. In 1816 she inherited the Fraeylemaborg
from her father. After the death of her husband, Mr. Johan Hora
Siccama in 1829, she remarried in 1831 with his cousin, Mr. Wiardus
Hora Siccama. After her death her husband remained a usufructuary on
the estate. After his death in 1867, the Fraeylemaborg inherited by
the will of Hermanna Louise Christina on the grandson of her
step-brother Abraham Johan van der Hoop, Abraham Johan Thomassen à
Thuessink van der Hoop. He then added van Slochteren to his name.
His oldest son Evert Jan, born in 1875, inherited the borg in 1882.
In 1908 he married Catharina Cornelia Star Numan. They had two
children, Jeanne Agatha and Geertruida Hermanna Louisa Christina. In
1952 Evert Jan died, who was also mayor of Slochteren from 1925 to
1940. After Mrs. Van der Hoop's death in 1965, her two daughters
lived in the surety for a few years. The financial burdens, however,
became too heavy and in 1971 the rich furniture was auctioned and on
January 9, 1972 the deposit with the forest was sold to the Gerrit
van Houten Foundation.
Last resident
The last offspring of the genus inhabiting the Fraeylemaborg, Louise
Thomassen à Thuessink van der Hoop van Slochteren, Douarière
Jonkheer François van Panhuys, died on 9 July 2008. She was 92 years
old. She was called the "last" real "bailiff of Groningen". With her
death, the era of the landed gentry in Groningen symbolically ended.
The Thomassen à Thuessink van der Hoop van Slochteren family does
not belong to the Dutch nobility. The family does belong to the
patriciate (non-noble generations who had a great reputation in
society for generations). Together with her three daughters and her
sister Jeanne, who died in 2002, Louise van der Hoop was the last to
inhabit the Fraeylemaborg in a grand state. She was buried in the
cemetery of the church of Slochteren.
Gerrit van Houten Foundation
The deposit is furnished with period rooms that give an impression
of the living atmosphere until the middle of the 20th century. In
this way, a personal addition is given to the era of the Menkemaborg
(18th century) and borg Verhildersum (19th century). The core
collection of the Fraeylemaborg is from the Gerrit van Houten
Foundation, which also permanently displays artworks from Gerrit van
Houten (1866-1934). The Fraeylemaborg also houses the collection of
the Jan Menze van Diepen Foundation, with Asian ceramics,
Oranje-Nassau prints, paintings and topographical maps. The
collection of the Van der Wijck-de Kempenaer Foundation is also kept
here. Temporary exhibitions are held in the Coach House. As a
museum, the deposit is open throughout the year.
The Slochterbos
Behind the borg is a park of approximately 20 hectares, which is
also called the Slochterbos.
Around 1700 the park was imitated with the fashion of the time with
the example of the Palace of Versailles decorating the garden and
the forest according to mathematical figures. See-throughs found a
haven in statues and vases. The central avenue of oak and beech with
a length of 1165 meters remains, which is oriented to the axis of
the house. An oblique axis of sight has also been preserved. If you
are standing in the extension of the main hall, you can see to the
rear up to the statue of Flora at the end of the middle avenue and
to the front along the driveway 1000 meters to the end of the avenue
through the over forest on the other side of the Hoofdweg, the new
provincial road and the port. From 1785 the park was transformed
into a romantic park in the English landscape style. Winding paths
were laid, irregularly shaped ponds were dug and a mountain was made
with the soil that was released. For the middle part of the
elongated park, landscape architect Johan David Zocher made Sr. a
design, dated 1802. The rear part of the park was designed by Georg
Anton Blum, of whom two design drawings have been preserved. This
phase was realized before 1821. Around 1840, Lucas Pieters Roodbaard
made a plan for the rear part of the park, to which an extension had
been added at that time. Little can be found of this plan drawing in
the current situation. The pride of the forest was a very old beech
tree, the Dikke Boom, which was six meters in size and was blown
over in 1963.
Trivia
Fraijlemaborg is a street name in Amsterdam-Zuidoost