Monumentenbezit has been around for 10 years!

Hurray, Monumentenbezit has existed for 10 years! In 2014 we were founded with one goal: to preserve historically valuable buildings. We do this by acquiring them, restoring them, renting them out and possibly providing a new impulse through repurposing them.

In 2016, the government sold 29 monuments that were transferred to us via the National Monuments Organisation. That was the real starting signal for our work as a heritage organisation. From repurposing to research, and from sustainability to realising a visitors centre. We share a selection of all the special moments of the past ten years.

Over the years, Monumentenbezit has grown from a small foundation to a national concept. Mark van den Bos, director-manager: “We started with just a laptop and a phone. And when you see where we are now as an organization, I am incredibly proud of that. What I find great to see is that the importance of the monument has always been the basis for us. We are and will remain a safety net for monuments, even when they are difficult to exploit.”

Although Monumentenbezit started as a safety net purely for the built part, we are increasingly asked whether we can also support the opening of a monument. Our expertise is therefore expanding and our team is growing in order to be able to support others. But we never achieve successful exploitation alone! For us, that always means working together with local parties. Mark: “We started a pilot phase this year, in which we are looking at how we can better join forces with a number of monuments and make the monument more future-proof. It concerns the exploitation of the monuments ourselves: Radboud Castle , the Ruins of Nuwendoorn , Slangenburg Castle and Trompenburgh Country Estate .”

Monumentenbezit also continues to develop in other areas. We have had POM status since 2022 and have been affiliated with an international heritage organisation (INTO) since 2023. “We would like to share our knowledge with parties in the sector. Especially since there are many more great projects in the pipeline. Such as the repurposing, restoration and installation of the Gothic House and Trompenburgh Country Estate – to name but a few. With the opening of Trompenburgh and the growth of our organisation, a new office is needed. So we will spend the next ten years in a new location. A great prospect, I am looking forward to it!”

Win promotion

Are you also celebrating our anniversary? Send us your best photo of one of our monuments, taken in the past 10 years. We will collect all entries and choose the best photo.

How to participate? And what to win?

• Submit your photo before September 1st via communicatie@monumentenbezit.nl – and mention in your email which monument you would like to visit;
• Our colleagues Roos, Agnes, Merle and Emma will then choose a winner together;
• The winner will be given a guided tour in the autumn, possibly with an additional guest, at a Monumentenbezit monument of their choice!

We will be sharing some beautiful images that are submitted in the coming months, with your submission you give permission to share the image via our social media.