The transnational serial property is an Enlightenment experiment in social reform. These cultural landscapes demonstrate an innovative, highly influential 19th-century model of pauper relief and of settler colonialism, which today is known as an agricultural domestic colony. The property encompasses four Colonies of Benevolence in three component parts: Frederiksoord-Wilhelminaoord and Veenhuizen in the Netherlands, and Wortel in Belgium. Together they bear witness to a 19th century experiment in social reform, an effort to alleviate urban poverty by establishing agricultural colonies in remote locations. Established in 1818, Frederiksoord (the Netherlands) is the earliest of these Colonies and home to the original headquarters of the Society of Benevolence, an association which aimed to reduce poverty at the national level. The other component parts were constructed between 1820 and 182
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Colonies of Benevolence
The transnational serial property is an Enlightenment experiment in social reform. These cultural landscapes demonstrate an innovative, highly influential 19th-century model of pauper relief and of settler colonialism, which today is known as an agricultural domestic colony. The