Welcome to Carpe Diem
Welcome to Havezathe Carpe Diem; the place where warmth, attention and coziness come naturally.
Amid the meadows and overlooking the Montferland forests stands our distinctive manor farmhouse, which we lovingly renovated in 2009. Surrounded by fields, forests and the tranquility of the Achterhoek, every day here feels like coming home. The ideal place to unwind, get some fresh air, enjoy activities, visit towns and villages, or do sports.
Our havezathe is called Carpe Diem for a reason. You can feel the motto “seize the day” in everything we do. From the friendly welcome upon arrival to the care and attention during your stay, meal or meeting.
At Carpe Diem it’s all about feeling and experience. The scent of freshly ground coffee in our lounge, cheerful laughter at the table, the rustling of the trees outside, and time that seems to stand still for a moment. We are a true family business, where the youngest generation welcomes everyone with genuine hospitality and where every guest feels seen and welcome. Whether you come for a relaxing night away, an inspiring meeting, an elaborate culinary dinner, or a moment of rest with a good glass of wine. Our team works with pleasure every day to surprise everyone in a warm, personal
A place with a story
Centuries-old history in the heart of the Achterhoek
Every place has a story. At Havezathe Carpe Diem, you can feel that story in everything. From medieval origins to an atmospheric manor farmhouse: here history, nature and hospitality come together in a special way.
In the oldest charters this estate is mentioned as “Havezathe Groot Vethusen”, today’s Groot Vethuizen. As early as 1179 this place played a significant role. Radbode II, Lord of den Bergh, helped found the Bethlehem monastery near Doetinchem and donated various properties and lands to the monastery, including Groot Vethusen.
A surviving charter from 1234 mentions Groot Vethusen again. In that period Pope Gregory IX took the Bethlehem monastery under his protection, even when the land was under interdict (a severe church punishment in which sacraments and masses were forbidden). Still, at consecrated places such as this outlying farm, services could be held in silence. The location where Groot Vethuizen now stands was then set up as an outlying farm of the Bethlehem monastery: a remote agricultural post where lay brothers and a few monastery priests devoted themselves to farming and livestock.
The now-filled-in moats around the farmhouse still recall that time. They show that the outlying farm was fortified and could be closed off; only around 1900 were the moats filled in and the drawbridge removed. In one of the former moats, a stone gate foundation was even found.
Life on the outlying farm was not always easy. Because the so-called conversi did not have to take monastic vows, it was sometimes difficult to maintain order. Presumably this ultimately led to the outlying farm being dissolved.
In 1583, during the Eighty Years’ War, monks from the largely destroyed Bethlehem monastery temporarily settled again at Groot Vethuizen. Count William IV, brother-in-law of Prince William of Orange, mediated in the evacuation of the priests to this safe location.
In later centuries the estate changed hands several times. In 1880 Groot Vethuizen—also called “the Bolheimer estate”—was owned by a Dutch priest (Van Loon) who worked in America. In 1884 Johannes Kersjes, born at the nearby Kersjes farm “Het Hof te Braamt”, bought the estate. The Kersjes family would live and work here for no less than 92 years, until 1976.
After that, new owners followed, until in 2008 Mr R. Wijnands, owner of Hotel Carpe Diem in Zeddam, purchased the farmhouse. He moved his hotel to Groot Vethuizen and gave this historic place a new purpose. Thus a new chapter began in a centuries-old story. A beautiful story in which history, hospitality and the future come together.