De Dellen near to Epe is a country estate dating from the 19th century that has become well known for one of its most famous residents, namely meteorologist and chemist Christoph Buys Ballot. He changed the expanses of heathland into a country estate and parkland by planting woods and adding lanes amongst the fields of heather. In 1929, this estate was the first purchase of the recently established Geldersch Landschap Foundation.
Herman Daendels
The country house at De Dellen, was built by General Herman Daendels, who was very active during the tumultuous Batavian-French era. But in 1803, Daendels fell into disgrace with the government and retreated to the Veluwe region. The Batavian Republic gave him a large piece of heathland near Epe, where he built a country house and started to cultivate the heathland for arable and sheep farming. Unfortunately, this failed, but within a couple of years, Daendels found himself back in favour and went on to become Governor General of the Dutch East Indies.
Buys Ballot
In 1851, the land was sold to the chemist, physicist and meteorologist Christoph Buys Ballot, who is best known for Buys Ballot´s Law, the scientific law that explains the relationship between wind and air pressure. There is even a crater on the moon that has been named after Buys Ballot. Buys Ballot planted fir trees on a large scale to create fast-growing woodland that would be suitable for producing timber. Buys Ballot´s son, Cornelis, expanded the estate by creating a landscaped park with broad avenues and exotic trees. Cornelis was buried on the estate with his dog, Pipo.
Geldersch Landschap
The Geldersch Landschap Foundation purchased the majority of the De Dellen estate (362 ha!) in 1929 from Frederik Buys Ballot. In 2007, the Geldersch Landschap Foundation bought another section of the original estate where the De Dellen café and inn once stood, which used to be known as the Meinhuis. This building was torn down in 1968, but the remains of the popular boating lake have since been rediscovered and are now clearly marked.
