Batestein Castle (Dutch : Kasteel Batestein) was a princely residence in Vianen in the Dutch province of Utrecht (since 2002), and South Holland (before 2002). It was the main seat of the Van Brederode family. The castle was famous for its gardens and its sculptures. It has been demolished in the 19th century. Today, not much remains except a gate from the 17th century, a pump and some parts of the walls. A local foundation is working on a partial reconstruction of the gardens.
The first lords of Vianen came from the family of Beusichem. [1] They were officials of the bishop of Utrecht. [1] They lived in the castle on the Bol (Dutch : Kasteel op de Bol), located 350 meters south of the old town of Vianen. [1] It consisted of an irregular octagon of about thirty meters in diameter. [1] It was surrounded by a moat and had a tower on the southwest corner. [1]
Today, there is nothing left to see of the castle on the Bol. [1] However, excavations were carried out between 1969 and 1971, during which remains were uncovered. [1]
Gijsbrecht van Vianen left the castle on the Bol. [1] Around 1370, he commissioned the construction of castle Batestein on the northwest tip of Vianen. [1] [2] [3] Gijsbrecht was married to Beatrix van Egmond, also known as Beate or Bate. Possibly, the name Batestein is derived from her name. [4]
The castle was dominated by a large keep, also called the tower of Saint Pol. [1] Gijsbrecht had captured the count of Saint Pol during the Battle of Baesweiler in 1371 and imprisoned him in the castle. [1] [2] The ransom Gijsbrecht received from the count financed the construction of the tower, and as thanks, it was named after the count. [1]
In 1414, the castle came into the possession of Walraven I van Brederode (1370–1417) through marriage to Gijsbrecht's granddaughter, Johanna van Vianen. [2] The Van Brederode family were among the most important nobles in the Netherlands. They held high military and political positions, serving as advisors and commanders, and holding titles such as the viscountship of Utrecht and count of Brederode. The ancestral seat of the family was Castle Brederode near Haarlem.
Under Hendrick van Brederode (1531–1568), the castle experienced its greatest splendour. The castle grew into an extensive complex, with several wings surrounding the castle tower. [1] [2] A beautiful renaissance garden was also laid out.
Batestein gained significant political importance when the Geuzen gathered here to prepare and draft the Compromise of Nobles in 1566, which Hendrik offered to Margaret of Parma (1522–1586), the Governor of the Netherlands. [2] In 1567, Vianen fell into Spanish hands; the city was dismantled, and the goods of Van Brederode were confiscated. [2] After the Eighty Years' War, the castle returned to the hands of the Van Brederodes, who had fought on the side of the States. [2]
Johan Wolfert van Brederode (1599–1655) revived the castle. [2] He was a field marshal in the State army and had good relations with the court of the princes of Orange. [4] In 1619, he married Anne Joanne of Nassau-Siegen (1594–1636). Around 1630 to 1650, he had the castle embellished into a modern residence. [2] The castle was beautifully furnished and the walls were papered with tapestries and gold wallpaper. The couple received many guests in Vianen, including prince Frederick Henry and his wife countess Amalia of Solms-Braunfels, the counts of Nassau and Solms, the viscount Dohna and members of the States of Holland, who were received royally. [5]
During this construction period, the Hofpoort (Court Gate) was also built. [2] The gate formed a decorative part of the castle connecting it to the gardens, which were expanded and designed at the same time under the supervision of gardener Isaac Leveschin. [4] The gardens of Prince Maurice and Prince Frederick Henry in and around The Hague, near the Buitenhof and Honselaarsdijk, served as an example for the gardens.
With Wolfert van Brederode (1649–1679), the Brederode lineage died out. [3] Initially, the property went to the von Dohna family, but in 1687, it was inherited by Simon Henry, Count of Lippe (1649–1697), who was married to Amalia of Dohna-Vianen. [3]
On the night of September 11 to 12, 1696, a clerk set off fireworks in the courtyard of the castle. [2] One or more rockets flew through an open window. [2] In a short time, the castle was engulfed in flames. [2] Only the most important documents could be saved; much of the castle was destroyed. Although there was a desire to rebuild the castle, this did not happen due to lack of funds. [2] The heavy financial burdens persisted, and in 1725, Simon Henry Adolph, Count of Lippe-Detmold (1694–1734) sold Batestein Castle and the lordship of Vianen to the States of Holland and West Friesland. [3] The count had the furnishings sent to his castle in Detmold, including around sixty paintings. [3]
During the 18th century, the castle served various purposes, including as a barracks and military hospital. [3] The Saint-Pol tower was demolished in 1771. [4] The 19th century brought its end. The demolition of what remained of the castle began shortly after 1828. [1] Today, only a few remnants remain, such as the Hofpoort from around 1650 and a pump from 1648 on the Hofplein. [1] [2]
The rich interior and furnishings, including tapestries and paintings (an inventory from 1685 listed 250 paintings), have been dispersed and lost over time. The princes of Dohna had collected their heirlooms in a Brederode room, which existed in Schlobitten Palace until its destruction in 1945. Furthermore, some paintings from Batestein can still be found in Braunfels castle, home of the Solms-Braunfels family.
A local foundation called Hof van Brederode Vianen is working to restore a portion of the castle gardens. [4] The municipality made the land available for this purpose in 2019. The foundation aims to make an accurate reconstruction based on historical imagery and archaeological and cadastral sources. [4]
Around 1560, Hendrick van Brederode had a country estate built for his wife Amalia of Neuenahr (1539–1602), west of Vianen: Amaliastein. [1] In the 17th century, significant gardens were established here under Johan Wolfert van Brederode. The estate was demolished around 1830. [1] What remains today are a sundial, part of the forest, and the moated grounds. [1] Additionally, there are maps and drawings from the 17th and 18th centuries. [1]
Vianen is a city and a former municipality in the central Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht. It is located south of the Lek river. Before 2002 it was part of the province of South Holland. Vianen is made up of a historic town centre that dates back to the medieval period and was once surrounded by a defensive wall and moat, as well as more extensive modern housing developments to the east, south and southwest and an industrial and commercial area. Vianen is intersected by two major motorways leading to the city of Utrecht: the A2 (Amsterdam-Maastricht) and the A27 (Breda-Almere). The municipality was merged with the municipalities of Leerdam and Zederik on 1 January 2019. The name of the new municipality is Vijfheerenlanden which is part of the Utrecht province.
Amalia of Solms-Braunfels was Princess of Orange by marriage to Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange. She acted as the political adviser of her spouse during his reign, and acted as his de facto deputy and regent during his infirmity from 1640 to 1647. She also served as chair of the regency council during the minority of her grandson William III, Prince of Orange from 1650 until 1672.
Henry (Hendrik), Lord of Bréderode, also styled Count of Brederode, was a member of the Dutch noble family Van Brederode. He was the leader of the allied Dutch nobles, the so-called Compromise of Nobles of 1566 and the Geuzen at the beginning of the Eighty Years' War. Van Brederode was named the "Grote Geus" or the "Big Beggar".
Hofwijck is a mansion built for 17th-century politician Constantijn Huygens. It is located in Voorburg on the Vliet canal from The Hague to Leiden. Formal address of the cultural heritage is 2 Westeinde, Voorburg, the Netherlands, but its location today is better known as the Voorburg railway station.
Braunfels is a town in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis in Hesse, Germany. It is located on the German Timber-Frame Road.
Doorwerth Castle is a medieval castle situated on the river Rhine near the city of Arnhem, Netherlands.
The Lords of Brederode were a noble family from Holland who played an important role during the Middle Ages and the Early modern period. The family had a high noble rank and hold the titles Count of Brederode, Count of Gennep, and furthermore they ruled the souverain Lordship of Vianen, the Viscountship of Utrecht among other feudal titles.
Breda Castle is a castle in the city of Breda, in the Netherlands.
Egmond Castle, also called the Ruins of Egmond, is a ruined medieval castle in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is located in Egmond aan den Hoef in the municipality of Bergen and lies about 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) west of Alkmaar. The castle dates from the 11th century and is the ancestral seat of the Egmond family, whose members became sovereign Dukes of Guelders, Counts of Egmond and Princes of Gavere, Counts of Buren and Leerdam. It is a national monument of the Netherlands.
Brederode Castle, also called the Ruins of Brederode, is located near Santpoort-Zuid. The castle was founded in the second half of the 13th century by William I van Brederode (1215–1285). William was a descendant of the lords van Teylingen, who were related to the counts of Holland. The castle formed part of the high lordship Brederode, which had been given in loan in the 13th century to the lords of Brederode by the count of Holland.
Walraven II van Brederode was Lord of Brederode, Vianen, Ameide, Bailiff of Hagestein and Burgrave of Utrecht.
Princess Mauritia Eleonora of Portugal, Dutch: Prinses Mauritia Eleonora van Portugal, was a princess from the House of Aviz. As a close relative of Prince Frederick Henry of Orange, she spent a long time at his court in The Hague. Later in life she married a count from the House of Nassau-Siegen.
Christian Albert, Burgrave and Count of Dohna was a German nobleman from the House of Dohna.
Frederick, Burgrave of Dohna was a German nobleman, an officer in Dutch service and a governor of the Principality of Orange. He later also rendered services to the Electorate of Brandenburg. Near the end of his life, he chose Switzerland, where he was highly regarded, as his adopted country.
Cannenburg Castle or Cannenburch Castle is a castle with a moat in the Netherlands. It is situated in Vaassen, a town in the province of Gelderland.
Countess Anne Joanne of Nassau-Siegen, German: Anna Johanna Gräfin von Nassau-Siegen, official titles: Gräfin zu Nassau, Katzenelnbogen, Vianden und Diez, Frau zu Beilstein, was a countess from the House of Nassau-Siegen, a cadet branch of the Ottonian Line of the House of Nassau, and through marriage Lady of Brederode, Vianen, Ameide and Kloetinge.
Coldenhove Castle was a castle in Eerbeek, the Netherlands. Due to its excellent location in the Veluwe, the castle used as hunting lodge by the dukes of Guelders and the princes of Orange. Nothing remains anymore of the castle or its gardens.
The siege of Vredelant took place from late 1279 to 1280 and was fought between Floris V of Holland and Bishop-Elect John I of Nassau on one side and the rebellious Van Amstel family on the other side. The castle of Vredelant was taken within weeks when Gijsbrecht IV van Amstel was captured by the count's soldiers.
Castle Buren or Buren Castle was a princely residence in Buren in the Dutch province of Gelderland. The castle was one of the largest castles in the Netherlands. It was the seat of the Buren branch of the Egmond family, as well as of the House of Orange. It has been demolished in the 19th century. Today, not much remains except a monument in the former bailey of the castle as well as model in the local museum.
Schlobitten Palace is a ruined baroque palace in Słobity, in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship in Poland. Formerly, it was part of East Prussia. The palace, constructed between 1622 and 1624, was the seat of the Schlobitten branch of the Dohna family. In 1945, it was looted and plundered by the Red Army, before it was set afire. Since, then it has been a ruin.
