Dutch royal's Het Loo palace renovations to cost €123 million

The Het Loo palace in Apeldoorn is largely closing on January 8th next year to undergo major expansion and renovations, which are expected to cost 123 million euros and take more than three years, the Telegraaf reports. 

It is expected that the palace, which is now a museum, will only open again in mid 2021. In the mean time visitors can still access the stables and the gardens and some events will still be held. The entrance fee will be adjusted in this period.

The palace is in dire need of renovation and there is a large amount of asbestos that must be removed. The presence of asbestos means that the museum could not change anything about the building over the past years, because there was a danger of the carcinogenic substance being released. 

More space will also be created for the museum and the palace will be equipped to modern requirements. The museum currently gets about 350 thousand visitors a year, compared to 150 thousand when it opened in 1984. After the renovations, it will be able to accommodate 500 thousand visitors per year.