1838 | Guillaume Groen van Prinsterer

Guillaume Groen van Prinsterer and Betsy van der Hoop moved into the house at 3 Korte Vijverberg in 1838. Betsy, who was also from a wealthy family, loved the house but sometimes found the luxury oppressive.
‘This is a very beautiful house –
I often think it too beautiful for travellers, foreigners and sojourners, but then there are also times that my vain heart takes pleasure in it…’

In addition to her other activities, Betsy was one of the founders of the Bronovo Hospital in The Hague. Groen van Prinsterer himself emerged as the leading representative of the anti-revolutionary movement in the Netherlands of the mid-nineteenth century, a group which believed that the Bible was the final authority in matters of governance. In 1849 he was elected to parliament, and remained there, on and off, until 1866.

Groen van Prinsterer died in 1876. His coffin was laid in the room containing the paintings by Dirk Dalens, to the left of the entrance. His wife died three years later. The names of both Groen van Prinsterer and Betsy van der Hoop are carved into the façade of the house.