History

The history of Het Kervel, located in the ‘Gelderse Achterhoek’, goes back till about the year 1370 and is one of the oldest estates of this area. It started with: ”Die adellijke havesathe Meyerinck.” (The noble property of Meyerinck). In 1422 it was owned by Steven van Kervenhem (or Kervenheim). Some people believe that two ladies from the German town Kervenheim, not far from Venlo, gave it first this name. Many things happened here. The main building has been rebuilt several times. An important extension took place in 1906 by baron and baroness von Twickel. There is a stone tablet as a reminder. In those days the total estate with farms and land properties measured approximately 1138 hectares. In one of the longest public sales the most things were sold in 1917. A Jewish family by the name Philips became the new owner and a certain mister Ben de Graaf was the manager. An excellent book about this troubled period has been published from W.J.M. Hermans, a writer from Hengelo, with the title: ‘Adres Kervel-Kelder’ (Address Kervel-Basement). In World War II Het Kervel served as an emergency hospital and hiding place. Some English pilots found here a save home and 18 Jews were hidden in the basements for a long time. From 1949-1969 it became a nunnery and a chapel was build. In 1985 it was bought by the present owner, the Elijah Foundation. With gardens and park this estate has approximately 2.2 hectares. In the nineties it became a local monument. It has some beautiful monumental trees of which one has a height of approximately 30 metres.