Het Gooi – Isaak Tirion, 1750

“Nieuwe Kaart van het Baljuwschap van Gooyland, de Loosdrechten, Mynden, Hollands Loenen en Weesper Karspel (…).” [New Map of the Bailiwick of Het Gooi, the Loosdrechten, Mynden, Loenen and the Parish of Weesp (…).] Copper engraving made in 1750 by J. Keizer, published by Isaak Tirion as part of his “Tegenwoordige Staat der Vereenigde Nederlanden.” With original hand colouring. Size: 32 × 36.5 cm.

Before 1795, the region of Holland was divided into bailiwicks. Gooiland was one such balliwick, and within this district the bailiff exercised higher jurisdiction from Muiderslot Castle.

Until the mid-19th century, the Gooi was a region of poor farming villages, with modest wool and textile production in Hilversum and Naarden, supported by the supply of wool from the heathlands of the Gooi.

Amsterdam used the area for sand extraction for its urban expansions, for which several canals were dug (’s-Graveland, Naarden, Bussum). The resulting canal network stimulated the economic development of the Gooi, in part through the establishment of regular trekschuit (towboat) services.

The heathlands were reclaimed for the construction of country estates for wealthy Amsterdammers, such as Oud Bussem and Trompenburgh. These estates were only inhabited during the summer; in winter the owners returned to the city. The rise of the Gooi as a residential area for the “well-to-do bourgeoisie” is closely linked to the region’s good accessibility from Amsterdam and Utrecht—initially by tow canal, but from 1874 onward via railway lines to Amsterdam, Utrecht, Amersfoort and beyond.

Price: Euro 525,-