Nature as Design: Landscape Planning, Heritage and Visitor Experience at Fraeylemaborg
Throughout European history, country houses and estates have played an important role in shaping cultural, social and visual landscapes. Built as residences for noble families, these estates were not only spaces of domestic life, but also carefully constructed environments, through which authority, taste, status and cultural identity were displayed. The architecture of the residence, together with the arrangement of gardens, water, pathways and surrounding land, created a unified setting that reflected social prestige and aesthetic ideals. In this sense, the country house was never only a house. It was a statement in space, a carefully composed world, in which architecture and nature worked together to communicate power.
In the modern period, however, many historic estates have been transformed from private noble residences into public heritage sites. Their function has shifted from lived aristocratic space to curated cultural landscape. Today, country houses operate not only as historic buildings, but also as places of memory, tourism and visual experience. They are preserved, interpreted, photographed and walked through by visitors who encounter the past through carefully arranged spaces. This essay argues that the estate can be understood as a designed cultural landscape, a curated heritage site and a visual experience, shaped by modern tourism. Drawing on the work of Erik de Jong, Adrian Tinniswood and Orvar Löfgren, the essay demonstrates how the estate’s landscape design reflects elite cultural values, while its modern presentation encourages visitors to experience the site as both heritage and spectacle.
For the purpose of this essay, the country house under examination is Fraeylemaborg, a historic estate situated in Slochteren in the province of Groningen (Figure 1). The house stands within an arranged landscape composed of water features, woodland, pathways and open green spaces (Figure 2). Positioned at the centre of the grounds, the building is surrounded by a moat that creates a sense of separation from the outside world, while also emphasizing its visual presence. The reflective surface of the water produces a mirrored image of the façade, almost doubling the house and making it appear more theatrical and monumental (Figure 3). The architecture of Fraeylemaborg conveys prestige and stability. Its prominent central tower gives the building an imposing yet elegant character, allowing it to stand out within the surrounding parkland.
When approaching the estate, the building gradually reveals itself through the surrounding vegetation. This slow visual arrival is important, because the house is not seen all at once. Instead, it appears through trees, water and open spaces, as if the landscape itself is preparing the visitor to encounter it. Natural elements, such as trees, lawns and water features contribute to a setting that appears peaceful and organic, yet also carefully composed. Pathways guide visitors through the park-like grounds (Figure 6; Figure 7), while the open grassy areas create visual space around the building and reinforce its central position within the estate. Although the setting initially appears natural, the arrangement of water, trees, paths and viewpoints suggests deliberate landscape design intended to highlight the house as the focal point of the site (Figure 4).
Observing the estate during the visit revealed how strongly the site conveys both tranquillity and visual drama. The landscape seems calm, but it is not passive. It directs the eye, shapes movement and frames the building in specific ways. The relationship between the surrounding landscape and the architecture creates a staged environment that shapes the visitor’s experience. Fraeylemaborg therefore demonstrates that the estate was designed not only as a residence, but also as a carefully composed visual landscape, where nature and architecture work together to produce an impression of harmony, prestige and controlled beauty.
Moving on to the next point, Fraeylemaborg is presented to visitors as a significant Groningen borg, with emphasis placed on its architecture, history and surrounding parkland. The public presentation highlights the aesthetic qualities of the estate and encourages visitors to appreciate the harmony between house and landscape. This narrative aligns with the contemporary role of country houses as heritage sites open to the public. However, the interpretation offered to visitors mainly focuses on beauty, noble history and architectural significance. While this presentation is valuable, because it makes the estate accessible and meaningful to a modern audience, it also risks creating a romanticized image of aristocratic life.
The public narrative pays relatively little attention to the wider social and economic structures that made such estates possible. For instance, the labour required to maintain the house, gardens, agricultural land and household is not strongly emphasized. The estate appears elegant and peaceful, yet this elegance depended on systems of work, service, land ownership and social hierarchy. In this way, the beauty of the estate can conceal the conditions that supported it. The visitor is invited to admire the refined surface of the site, but the deeper social realities behind that surface remain less visible. This creates a tension between heritage as beauty and heritage as historical complexity.
Furthermore, the relationship between landscape and design can be understood through the work of Erik de Jong, who argues that early modern Dutch country house landscapes represented a combination of nature and art. De Jong’s approach is useful, because it shows that landscapes around elite residences were not simply natural surroundings, but planned environments in which nature was shaped according to cultural ideals. Trees, water, paths and open views were arranged to create meaning. What appears to be natural scenery is often the result of deliberate planning and aesthetic control.
Fraeylemaborg reflects this idea through its carefully arranged park landscape. The layout of the park, including the pathways and open spaces, guides the visitor’s attention toward the house and emphasizes its central role within the estate. The visitor does not move randomly through the grounds; movement is subtly directed by the landscape itself (Figure 5). Walking paths lead visitors through the park (Figure 6; Figure 7), creating specific viewpoints from which the house can be admired. Particularly striking are the perspectives, where the building is reflected in the surrounding water, naturally attracting attention and encouraging photography (Figure 3). These viewpoints frame the house almost like an image, transforming the estate into something that is not only walked through, but also looked at.
This demonstrates that Fraeylemaborg functions as a visual composition. The landscape does not merely surround the house, it participates in the meaning of the house. It softens the architecture, enhances its beauty and gives it a sense of distance and importance. The estate becomes a place, where nature is arranged to support cultural identity and social prestige. In this sense, the landscape can be understood as a form of silent language. It communicates refinement, order and status without needing words.
Adrian Tinniswood’s work is also useful for understanding Fraeylemaborg’s contemporary role as a heritage site. Tinniswood explains that many historic country houses have been transformed from private aristocratic homes into public cultural sites, where the past is presented through curated experiences. This process can be seen clearly at Fraeylemaborg. The estate is no longer simply a private residence, it has become a place, where history is organized, displayed and made available to visitors. The house and landscape are preserved not only as historical remains, but also as spaces intended to inform, attract and engage the public.
Furthermore, the presentation of Fraeylemaborg today reflects this process of musealization. Musealization refers to the transformation of historical places into museum-like environments, where heritage is preserved, interpreted and presented to the public. Within this process, the designed landscape becomes part of the heritage display. The visitor experiences not only the building, but also the way nature and architecture were historically combined. The estate becomes an open-air exhibition of aristocratic life, landscape design and regional history. At the same time, it also becomes a leisure space, where visitors walk, photograph, relax and visually consume the surroundings.
This creates another important tension. On one hand, musealization protects the estate and allows people to encounter local history. On the other hand, it can simplify the past by presenting it in a polished and easily enjoyable form. The house becomes beautiful, accessible and educational, but also somewhat staged. The visitor is guided through a version of history that is curated and selective. In this way, Fraeylemaborg becomes both - a historical site and a carefully shaped visitor experience.
Nevertheless, the experience of visiting the estate can also be understood through Orvar Löfgren’s concept of the tourist gaze. Löfgren argues that tourists often search for distinctive sights - places that are visually striking, memorable and suitable for admiration or photography. Fraeylemaborg can be interpreted as such a location. The reflection of the house in the surrounding water, the framed views created by trees and the balanced arrangement of the landscape all create a visually powerful setting that naturally draws the visitor’s eye. The estate offers moments that feel almost picture-like, inviting visitors to pause, look and capture the scene.
Through this tourist gaze, Fraeylemaborg is experienced not only historically, but also aesthetically. Visitors may come to learn about the past, but they also encounter the estate as a beautiful image. The house becomes part of a visual experience shaped by contemporary habits of tourism, photography and heritage consumption. The visitor looks at the estate not only as a historical object, but also as a scene to be admired. In this sense, the estate exists between memory and spectacle. It preserves traces of the past, yet it is also shaped by the expectations of the present.
In conclusion, Fraeylemaborg illustrates how historic country houses operate today as carefully designed cultural landscapes and heritage attractions. The estate’s landscape demonstrates how natural elements were deliberately arranged to express prestige, cultural values and aesthetic order. At the same time, its modern presentation transforms the former aristocratic residence into a public site where visitors encounter history through curated routes, framed views and visual experiences. Fraeylemaborg, therefore, cannot be understood only as a historic building. It is a landscape of memory, a staged environment and a place where architecture, nature, heritage and tourism come together.
The estate’s beauty lies not only in the house itself, but in the way the house appears through water, trees, paths and reflection. Yet this beauty should also be read critically. Behind the peaceful surface of the landscape are histories of hierarchy, labour and social privilege that are not always visible in the public presentation. Fraeylemaborg, therefore, shows both - the charm and the complexity of country house heritage. It allows visitors to experience the past as something visually powerful and emotionally engaging, while also reminding us that heritage is never neutral. It is always shaped by what is preserved, what is emphasized and what remains quietly hidden beneath the surface.
For a more grounded and personal understanding of the site, I visited Fraeylemaborg myself, allowing my research to be informed not only by written sources, but also by direct observation of the estate, its landscape and the visitor experience.
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