“For years the building stood empty, its decay a thorn in the side of many in Eibergen. We managed to save one of the oldest factory buildings from demolition.”
In 1834 the Belgian Jean Baptiste Paul Bouquié builds a textile factory on the Reuverskamp by the Berkel; a few years later it opens its doors. Over the years successive owners run a cotton weaving mill here. Bouquié also champions the Nieuwe Brug (1837) and the road linking Enschede, Haaksbergen, Eibergen and Groenlo — later the main north–south route of the Achterhoek.
Around 1900 Fabriek Prakke is founded. The Prakke family runs several factories in the region — only this building survives. Until the 1970s they make “pickers” here: buffalo-hide buffer cushions that catch the shuttles in weaving looms.
Around 1970 the machine factory Gemavo moves into the building. Many Eibergen residents work here for years, until the company goes bankrupt in 2001 and the factory falls silent.
In 2006 the Habion foundation buys the building to create care homes, but the plan founders. For over fourteen years one of the oldest — and externally best-preserved — factory buildings in the East of the Netherlands stands empty. The decay pains many in Eibergen, and demolition looms.
In 2015 the building is bought by two young entrepreneurs, saving it from demolition. Market research points to a shortage of overnight stays in the region; a hotel with restaurant proves the finest new purpose and the municipality gives the green light. The building goes into scaffolding, and from 2016 it is stripped, restored and rebuilt — much of it by hand.
In 2018 De Kastanjefabriek reopens: sustainable, well insulated and without fuss — with top beds, powerful rain showers and a generous breakfast. The restaurant opens under the same roof, and after almost two centuries the old factory hums with life once more.
In 2026 building work begins again: a spacious conservatory rises at the back. Restaurant and terrace will soon flow seamlessly into the garden — light, space and a view of the greenery, all year round.
Three years of stripping, restoring and building — much of it by hand. This aftermovie shows how the old factory became a hotel.
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