The Noorderheide, north of Elspeet on the Veluwe, is a historic heath and woodland landscape shaped by centuries of use. In 1920, Rotterdam industrialist Daniël George van Beuningen acquired Noorderheide and Elspeterbos as a private hunting and country estate. He built the expressive villa Noorderheide (1938–1941) and added striking follies, waterworks and stone pyramids in the heath, turning the landscape into a carefully designed ensemble. These elements, together with the villa, are now listed as national monuments.