VR 360 House Westerbeek and estate, Frederiksoord

The landscapes of the Colonies of Benevolence
Nominated as UNESCO World Heritage site
The Colonies of Benevolence are an innovative and highly influential 19th-century model of poverty relief in agricultural settlements. These agricultural domestic Colonies are a radical, large-scale experiment in social reform, rooted in the ideas of the Enlightenment.
Deliberately cultivated as ‘islands’ in remote domestic heathland and peatland areas, the Colonies of Benevolence implemented the ideas of a panoptic disciplinary system for the poor in their functional and spatial organization which is still recognizable in the landscapes. They pioneered a model that attracted international attention as an example.
Take a look at their disciplined layout and features!