The Kneuterdijk Palace was built in The Hague in 1716. Its first owner was Count Wassenaer Obden. In 1816 the count’s great-granddaughter sold it to King Willem I of the Netherlands and the palace became the property of the royal family. Since then, Kneuterdijk has become the official residence of the Crown Prince Willem of Orange and his wife, Grand Duchess Anna Pavlovna.
After the Belgian Revolution of 1830, Willem and Anna were forced to leave the palace in Brussels. Among other things there was a large collection of works of art. To find a place for it in Kneuterdijk, the Gothic Hall was built in 1840, and until 1848 more rooms in the neo-Gothic style were built.
After the death of Willem II, Anna Pavlovna left the palace and moved to Soestdijk. Kneuterdijk remained the property of the royal family until the 1930s. After the Second World War criminal trials took place in this palace, mainly against Dutch people, who were suspected of war crimes committed during the German occupation of the Netherlands. Later the building was transferred to the Ministry of Finance, and since 2011, the State Council has been located in Kneuterdijk.
