Duivenvoorde Castle

Last updated
Duivenvoorde Castle
Voorschoten, the Netherlands
Kasteel Duivenvoorde 015.jpg
Kasteel Duivenvoorde
Netherlands location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Duivenvoorde Castle
Coordinates 52°06′41″N4°25′03″E / 52.11139°N 4.41750°E / 52.11139; 4.41750
TypeCastle
Site information
Open to
the public
Yes, partly
ConditionGood
Site history
Built1226

Duivenvoorde Castle (Dutch : Kasteel Duivenvoorde) is a castle in the town of Voorschoten, South Holland, in the Netherlands. It was first mentioned in 1226, making it one of the oldest castles in South Holland.

Contents

The castle is remarkable in that it has never been sold, which can be said of very few Dutch castles. It has passed by inheritance through several noble houses, sometimes through the matrilineal line. For the first five centuries of its history, the castle was owned by one family, the van Duivenvoordes, who gave their name - at that time, van Duvenvoirde - to it. Although thus named, the van Duvenvoirdes properly formed part of the House of Wassenaer, an ancient noble family which has played an important role in Dutch history. Towards the end of the 17th century an owner of Duivenvoorde Castle, Johan van Duvenvoirde, readopted the name of van Wassenaer. Therefore, although the same family remained in the House, this was under a different name.

The Roman plaques

In 1717, two Roman stones were installed as plaques in the front hall. The larger of the two stones, dated between 196 and 198 AD, has an inscription on the front about the repair of an armory by Roman troops; the text on the other side is older, dating from somewhere between 103 and 111 AD. In the making of the newer text, the stone was made smaller, damaging the older text.

The smaller stone has a text which, through knowledge of the people named there in, can date the stone to around 205 AD.

Legend holds that both stones come from Brittenburg, the presumed Roman ruins that resurfaced above water off the coast of Katwijk in 1520. However, this cannot be true of the larger stone, because a military chronicle discovered in 1517 was indisputably taken from the text inscribed on it, implying that the stone was one found in 1502 while plowing a piece of land near the Monastery of Roomburg.

Current status

The last private owner of the castle was Jonkvrouwe Ludolphine Henriette, Baroness Schimmelpenninck van der Oye (1891-1965). Knowing that with her death the house would be sold and the furniture dispersed, including the collections of portraits, porcelain and clothing and textiles, she decided to close the house and leave it in the care of a foundation for restoration. The stated aim was to restore the castle to its appearance in 1717, although in practice this has not always been possible. The terrace constructed around 1844 has been kept, and the opening of previously sealed windows to allow more light into the living room has taken away some symmetry. The interior has been redecorated to match the colours of 1717, and later stucco on the ceilings has been left in place.

The Duivenvoorde Foundation aims to turn Kasteel Duivenvoorde into a museum and to put its historic contents on display to visitors. However, the central and north wings of the house have not been turned into the usual kind of museum and instead have been made to look as though they are still lived in, giving the visitor the impression of going back in time and walking around a house from which its 18th-century owners are only temporarily absent.

The south wing is still inhabited; Ludolphine Emilie van Haersma Buma, Baroness Schimmelpenninck van der Oye, has lived there since 2003. Her brother lives in the castle's garden house.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oostkamp</span> Municipality in Flemish Community, Belgium

Oostkamp is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the villages of Hertsberge, Oostkamp proper, Ruddervoorde and Waardamme. On January 1, 2019, Oostkamp had a total population of 23,698. The total area is 79.65 km² which gives a population density of 289 inhabitants per km².

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loevestein Castle</span> Dutch medieval castle in Zaltbommel

Loevestein Castle is a medieval castle in the municipality of Zaltbommel, Gelderland, the Netherlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muiden Castle</span> Castle at the mouth of the Vecht river in the Netherlands

Muiden Castle is a castle in the Netherlands, located at the mouth of the Vecht river, some 15 kilometers southeast of Amsterdam, in Muiden, where it flows into what used to be the Zuiderzee. It is one of the better known castles in the Netherlands and featured in many television shows set in the Middle Ages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fraeylemaborg</span> Historic house museum in Slochteren, Netherlands

The Fraeylemaborg is a borg in the village of Slochteren in the Netherlands. At present the Fraeylemaborg is a historic house museum. The museum had 31,509 visitors in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heeze Castle</span> Castle in the Netherlands

Heeze Castle is situated in the Netherlands, south of Eindhoven. It used to be the centre of the seigneury of Heeze, Leende and Zesgehuchten, part of the Duchy of Brabant. In the Middle Ages, it was owned by the de Horne family. In the seventeenth Century Pieter Post designed a new castle, of which the first part was built in 1665. After Pieter Post died, the work was completed by his son Maurits Post.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Valkenburg Castle</span>

Valkenburg Castle is a ruined castle in Valkenburg aan de Geul, Netherlands. It is unique in the Netherlands in that it is the only castle in the country built on a hill. The castle is listed in the top hundred of Dutch cultural monuments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gratia Schimmelpenninck van der Oye</span> Dutch alpine skier

Baroness Gratia Maria Margretha, Baroness Schimmelpenninck van der Oye was a Dutch alpine skier. Her father was president of the Dutch National Olympic Committee during the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam and a long-term member of the International Olympic Committee. Gratia reached sixth place at the world championships and won two major ski races, in St. Anton and Kitzbühel. She competed at the 1936 Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, finishing 14th in the alpine combined event. Despite her two falls, this remains the highest ranking in Olympic skiing reached by a Dutch national.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doorwerth Castle</span>

Doorwerth Castle is a medieval castle situated on the river Rhine near the city of Arnhem, Netherlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Floris Adriaan van Hall</span> Dutch politician

Floris Adriaan van Hall, Baron of Hall was a prominent Dutch nobleman and statesman in the 19th century. He played an important role as representative of the Amsterdam trade and banking sector, and later as politician. He served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 1853 to 1856, and again from 1860 to 1861.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jansgeleen Castle</span>

Jansgeleen Castle, now erroneously called Sint-Jansgeleen or Sint Jansgeleen, was a medieval castle in the little village of Spaubeek, in the Dutch province of Limburg. Spaubeek is located in the municipality of Beek, about 3 km south of the town of Geleen. Spaubeek was a separate municipality until 1982, when it was merged with Beek.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Van Wassenaer</span> Noble family

Van Wassenaer is the name of an old Dutch noble family. It was first mentioned in the county of Holland on November 3, 1200. They are one of the few original noble families from Holland that has survived to this day. Members of the family carry the title of count or baron.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Croy Castle</span> Castle in the Netherlands

The castle Croy is a castle in the Dutch province North Brabant, near the village Aarle-Rixtel which is part of the municipality of Laarbeek. From 1642 until 1968 Croy belonged to the municipality Stiphout.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zuylen Castle</span>

Zuylen Castle is a Dutch castle at the village of Oud-Zuilen just north of the city of Utrecht. It is located along the river Vecht at the southern end of the Vechtstreek.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Breda Castle</span> Castle in the Netherlands

Breda Castle is a castle in the city of Breda, in the Netherlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Huis Bergh</span>

Huis Bergh is a castle in 's-Heerenberg and is one of the largest castles in the Netherlands. It gives its name to the Land van den Bergh and was previously owned by the counts van Bergh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Egmond Castle</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Van Polanen Family</span> Dutch noble family

The Van Polanen family are a noble family that played an important role in the Netherlands during the Middle Ages. By inheriting the vast properties of the Polanen family, the House of Nassau in 1403 became a landowner in the Netherlands for the first time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Twickel Castle</span> Castle in Delden, Overijssel

Twickel is a protected historic country estate with 81 complex parts near Delden in the hamlet of Deldeneresch, in the municipality of Hof van Twente in the province of Overijssel in The Netherlands. The moated castle forms the center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nijenhuis (Diepenheim)</span> Castle and an estate in The Netherlands

Nijenhuis is a castle and an estate near Diepenheim in the municipality Hof van Twente, Netherlands.

References