Huis Doorn

About

Built in the 19th century on the site of an older estate, Huis Doorn was home to Wilhelm II, the last German Emperor, who lived here in exile between 1920 and 1941. After Germany’s defeat in World War I in 1918, the Emperor fled to the neutral Netherlands, and eventually settled in this manor house. With him, he brought 59 rail cars filled with art and furnishings from German palaces to create his own pocket-sized imperial court. During World War II, all German owned properties were considered to belong to the enemy, so Huis Doorn was seized by the state and immediately transformed into a museum showcasing how the imperial nobility lived. Today, the manor is essentially unchanged, allowing visitors a look into the life of Emperor Wilhelm II through the thousands of refined object the kaiser surrounded himself with.