The Waterloo Needle
If you stand with your back to Soestdijk Palace, the Waterloo Needle is in a beautiful, straight line of sight. This is a commemorative pillar from 1815 for a brave crown prince.
The Dutch Parliament were so grateful to Prince Willem Frederick of Orange, who later became King William II, for his courage and resilience, that they awarded him Soestdijk Palace and built this commemorative pillar in his honour.
He was the one to repulse the first French attack in 1815. This victory near Brussels (Quatre Bras) preceded the famous Battle of Waterloo, where Emperor Napoleon was defeated.
The inscription on the monument reads: ‘The grateful fatherland’. The snake, which bites its own tail and forms a circle around the inscription, is the symbol of eternity.
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