The name Schoonderlogt is already known in the 17th century, but the current Schoonderlogt is known to be bought by Mr Gaymans in 1900.
He broke down all old buildings and built a brand new Schoonderlogt with his wife.
A first-rate country house with many south-facing windows, beautiful verandas and balconies. A beautiful entrance where you had to drive under a gate to get to the site. At the far left of the picture you can see the current entrance gate.
The house was equipped with the most modern gadgets like water pipes. For this they had water tanks in the basement and in the attic. The water was manually pumped to the attic and then passed through a piping system to all rooms.
In addition to the country house a farm and barn was also built. Mr Gaymans wanted a model farm for chicken breeding. This farm worked with a system that was breaking ground at the time. With the help of separate boxes, the production of each chicken was checked. For example, the chickens with the highest production could be selected.
But luck did not take long, when after a few years after everything was finished, Mrs Gaymans died. Soon after, there was a new Mrs. Gaymans. She found the house where she came to live was very beautiful, but the environment did not meet her taste. She rather like to live in the upscale vicinity of Velp. And so it happened that the beautiful house was broken down and rebuilt in Velp. The gatehouse and the chicken farm remained in Elst.
Below the reconstructed Villa in Velp.
The reconstructed villa in Velp was named Ramstede. This villa was unfortunately burned down in the 1960s.
In the picture below is Major Winters posing for the entrance gate of Schoonderlogt.
Dick Winters was in that time captain of Easy Company, part of the 2nd Batallion, which had to guard the sector between Heteren and Randwijk. Prior to Market Garden, he was promoted to Captain, and later (March 8, 1945) promoted to Major.
Because of this role we get every year, many visitors want to see the entrance gate and like it in the picture like the famous Major Winters did. Ever fewer veterans, but today more and more children and grandchildren of the veterans. Major Winters has visited Schoonderlogt again several years later.
Schoonderlogt also plays a role in the famous Band of Brothers series of Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks. Band of Brothers tours are organized that cover the entire trip from Normandy to Germany, where the series ends, and thus Schoonderlogt. Below the actor who plays Dick Winters in the B.o.B series, his name is Damian Lewis, on the right the true Dick Winters.
In 2004, this gatehouse was finally restored, after years of procedures, and restored in its old glory. Two residential units were realized.
The roof of the farmhouse has been completely renovated and the walls and floor are insulated on the ground floor, which also restores this building completely in old glory. The interior was designed by Medie Janssen Interior Architect.
This property is not open to public. The driveway is a private road. Photos may be taken from the road. If war veterans and other interested parties want to make a picture below the entrance gate, please e-mail in advance.