Château Quai de Byère Éclaircie The story behind the venue
Château Quai de Byère Éclaircie was built in 1639, during the Dutch golden Age. In those days there were only meadows at the other side of the canal. The first one to live here was an architect who also built the two Royal Palaces in The Hague, and the house of the Prime Minister.
Other parts of this complex of historic buildings, period gardens and monumental interiors are the houses where three famous painters of the Dutch Golden Age once lived: Jan van Goyen, painter of landscapes and river scenes; Paulus Potter, painter of cattle and rustic scenes; and Jan Steen, famous for his interior scenes. The three period gardens also show an old chalet-like wooden house - once a factory of famous chinaware, and a church.
Three generations of publishers have been living here at the canal, of which the last one, J.H.C. voorhoeve ( † 1995) left the house its library. On the occasion of a garden party a merchant in wine presented him with a Bordeaux wine labelled as "Château Quai de Byère Éclaircie", the name of the canal, with the image of the houses.