Drakensteyn is a small castle constructed in the years 1640–1643 for a Gerard van Reede Läm. A house called Drakesteijn at this location was first mentioned in 1359. It is owned by Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands, the country's former Queen who abdicated in 2013. Beatrix bought the castle in 1959, when she was the heir to the Dutch throne, and took up residence in 1963. After her marriage in 1966 she continued to live there with her husband, Prince Claus and later their three sons as well. After Beatrix succeeded her mother Juliana as Queen of the Netherlands in 1980, the family moved to The Hague in 1981. The royal connection aside, its most distinctive feature is its octagonal shape. It is surrounded by a moat that can be crossed via a bridge. Its style can be described as Classicist.
References:Linderhof is the smallest of the three palaces built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria and the only one which he lived to see completed.
Ludwig II, who was crowned king in 1864, began his building activities in 1867-1868 by redesigning his rooms in the Munich Residenz and laying the foundation stone of Neuschwanstein Castle. In 1868 he was already making his first plans for Linderhof. However, neither the palace modelled on Versailles that was to be sited on the floor of the valley nor the large Byzantine palace envisaged by Ludwig II were ever built.
Instead, the new building developed around the forester's house belonging to his father Maximilian II, which was located in the open space in front of the present palace and was used by the king when crown prince on hunting expeditions with his father.