On a beautiful and sunny day in june 2018 I visited Sanatorium Zonnestraal. From my home to this site it is only a hour driving for me, so I decided to go with my car. With public transport (train/bus) it is also posible to visit this site, there is a busstop on the estate.

Sanatorium Zonnestraal was build in the years 1928-1931. The architect was Jan Duiker. The estate is almost 120 hectare and the original sanatorium contains 3 large buildings and some smaller buildings. The years after 1931 they build a lot more on the estate. There is a trail (5km) on the estate and so I hiked along all the buildings.

Zonnestraal was a aftercare institute for TBC patients from the diamond association. For the construction they used only cheap materials such as concrete, steel and glass. The building was build for a lifespan of only 30 years. The idea was that after 30 years there was a medical solution against TBC and then the buildings were no longer needed.

The buildings are nowadays used by some small companies such as a physiotherapist, dentist, fitness, a lunchroom and it is used for seminars. My impression was that Zonnestraal is very poorly maintained. Zonnestraal has been on the tentative list from the Netherlands since 1995. If the Netherlands ever seriously consider proposing Zonnestraal for a nomination, then they need a very good story and also a lot of maintenance is required.

I walked  one and a half hour on the estate. If you want to see only the mainbuildings then 15 minuts is enough.