| Hellenburg | |
|---|---|
De Hellenburg or Kasteel Hellenburg | |
| Baarland, the Netherlands | |
 Ruins of the Hellenburg in 2006 | |
  Hellenburg | |
| Coordinates | 51°24′33″N3°52′46″E / 51.4091°N 3.8795°E |
| Type | Water castle |
| Site information | |
| Open to the public | No |
| Condition | Consolidated foundations |
| Site history | |
| Built | First half 14th century |
| Materials | brick |
| Demolished | Flooded 1477 |
| Events | Cosmas- and Damian Flood (1477) |
Hellenburg is a ruined castle near Baarland, in Zeeland, Netherlands.
Hellenburg is amongst the rare castles that completely disappeared over time. By the 1950s Baarland municipality knew not much more than the approximate location of the Hellenburg. 17th century depictions of a large castle seemed exaggerated. In early 1958 a land consolidation plan led to archaeological excavations at the site, led by Jaap Renaud.
The first phase of Hellenburg was a tower house. It measured 11 by 11 m on the outside. With walls of 2 m thick, the inside space was only 7 by 7 m. On the southwest corner the tower house had a privy tower. The south side of the tower house stood in the moat. The three other sides had such shallow foundations that they were surely not in the moat. [1]
The brick used for the first tower house measured 28 * 13.5 * 6.5 cm. Renaud therefore dated the first phase of the Hellenburg to about the mid-fourteenth century. [2]
In a later phase, the Hellenburg was expanded to a major castle. It got three round towers on the east side, and three heavy square towers. [3]
What was remarkable, is that the tower came to lie within the walls of the new castle, instead of being re-used as a corner tower, which was the usual way to expand a tower house. [2]
It was even more strange that the southern wall of the tower house came to lie within two new rooms created by an inner wall. A new outside wall led from a new square southwest tower to a new round southeast tower. The southern wall of the tower house was then demolished. The northern part of the tower house was probably left to serve as living space. [2]
It is probable that on the western side of the new castle, there was a large hall, indicated by the small section of wall that runs south for about 3.5 m over the courtyard in the direction of the tower house. The other rooms had less practical measurements, like 10 * 3 m for the southwest room. [2]
In a still later phase the heavy square tower in the center of the south wing, with its two privy towers was added. The original southern outside wall was found inside this tower. [4] At the northeast corner of the second castle the two small rooms between the gate and the northeast tower were built last. These contained small bricks of only 21–23 cm length, the smallest found at the Hellenburg. These were also used in the round corner tower. [5]
In 1691 Hildernisse drew a floor plan of what he could still observe of the Hellenburg. He gave the diameter of the round towers as 19 feet, which was in line with the 5.10-5.86 m found by Renaud in 1958. Hildernisse gave 130 by 90 feet for the complete main castle, which was also about correct. [6] Obviously Hildernisse could only see the remarkable configuration of three round towers in a line. The rest he had to guess, and supposed this was a simple square.
The outer bailey of the castle did not show signs of any serious defensive works. It is remarkable that the outer bailey seems to have been connected to the main castle by a dam, instead of a bridge. [7]
Apart from that, only a few details of the outer bailey were discovered during the excavations. [7]
Hellenburg Castle is located just under 500 meters west of Baarland Castle. This makes it possible to confuse the history of the two, and harder to connect owners and castles.
The foundation of the Hellenburg is related to the downfall of the Van Renesse family. In 1297 their leader John III, Lord of Renesse lost Moermond Castle during a siege. He was killed in 1304. In 1312 his brothers Hendrik and Costijn van Renesse then gave their lands in Schouwen / Renesse to William III of Holland in exchange for the count's lands in West Baarland, Bakendorp and Oudelande. [8]
Hendrik's son Jan (c. 1305–1348) is the presumed founder of the tower house at Hellenburg. [9] He married the Utrecht heiress Aleyd van Lichtenberg, which gave him important possessions in Rhijnauwen. [6] In 1352 his widow was mentioned as lady of Rhijnauwen, Lichtenberg and Hellenburg. Jan's oldest son Jan (b. c. 1430–1415) would be styled as lord of Rhynauwen, Lichtenberg, Baarland, Stuvesand and Bakendorp. [9] In 1413 this Jan was banished from Utrecht, and retired to his Holland possessions. He was succeeded by his son Jan, who died in 1438, and was buried in Utrecht, like his father. Both were buried in Utrecht, indicating that the Hellenburg was not that important to them. [10]
Next came Frederik van Renesse. His marriage to Elisabeth van Kruiningen, indicates a renewed interest in Zeeland. [6] During the wars in Utrecht, Frederik retired to the Hellenburg in about 1450. He died there on 20 September 1452. His widow and her five children then remained there. Frederick is believed to have built the castle of which we now see the extensive ruins. [10]
The finds from the 1957-1958 archaeological excavations allow us to date the abandonment of the castle to about 1475. [11] This is in line with a supposed destruction during the Cosmas and Damian Flood of 1477. Renaud noted that Reygersberg [12] extensively reported about the floods of 1530 and 1532, that he personally witnessed, and that these can therefore be excluded. [6]
Frederik's son Jan married Cornelia van Bouchoven. When he had to leave Utrecht in 1481, he went to his wife's possessions in Flanders, and not to the Hellenburg. The descendants of this Jan van Renesse are the Counts of Renesse van Oostmalle, and still live in Belgium. [11]
In 1613 another Jan van Renesse, Lord of Malle would lease the terrain to some inhabitants of Baarland, who were also allowed to harvest some trees. In about 1700 the ownership changed. [13] A few years before that a picture was made of the castle.
As mentioned above, the ruins of the Hellenburg were rediscovered in March 1958. Of course the archaeologists were curious about the three round towers on one wall depicted by Hildernisse and the 1696 engraving. [14]
The very clear floor plan found at the Hellenburg inspired many castle enthusiasts. They did not like the idea that the foundations would be partly broken out for agriculture, and then lost from sight forever. It was also noted that Zeeland did not have much castles, and Zuid-Beveland had nothing in this respect. An idea to preserve the foundations in the same way that this had been dome at Egmond Castle then came up. [15]
The Zeeland tourism agency liked the idea, and so did many other organizations. During 1958 there was a struggle to preserve the ruins. The municipality of Baarland did not like the idea, and so did most of the inhabitants, who did not see a compelling reason to leave a plot of 40 by 50 m of land unused. Zeeland Province did not want to subsidize the preservation. In the end the Hellenburg foundation Stichting Hellenburg won the struggle, and became owner of the terrain. However, this foundation was not strong enough to do much with the ruins. [16]
By 1977 the ruins of Hellenburg had finally been made presentable. [17] The ruins are currently managed by Het Zeeuwse Landschap, a nature preservation organization.
The Hook and Cod wars comprise a series of wars and battles in the County of Holland between 1350 and 1490. Most of these wars were ostensibly fought over who should hold the title of "Count of Holland", but some have argued that the underlying reason was a power struggle conducted by the bourgeois in the cities against the ruling nobility.
Renesse is a village in the Dutch province of Zeeland. It is a part of the municipality of Schouwen-Duiveland, and lies about 28 km west of Hellevoetsluis.
Baarland is a village in the Dutch province of Zeeland. It is a part of the municipality of Borsele, and lies about 21 km east of Middelburg.
The Battle of Zwartewaal was a decisive naval battle during the Hook and Cod wars.
Rhijnauwen is a castle, former heerlijkheid (fiefdom), and former municipality in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It was located northwest of the village of Bunnik.
The Castle de Renesse is a castle located in the village of Oostmalle (Malle), in the Campine region of the province of Antwerp. It is currently owned by the municipality of Malle.
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.
Haamstede Castle is a castle in the village of Haamstede on the island of Schouwen-Duiveland. It is a rijksmonument.
Te Riviere Castle is a ruinous castle located in Schiedam, Netherlands.
The Battle of Veere was a small naval battle that took place in late May 1351 during the Hook and Cod wars.
Binckhorst Castle is a 16th and 17th century manor built on top of a demolished medieval castle.
Spangen Castle was a medieval castle near the village Overschie. It has disappeared completely. The Rotterdam city quarter Spangen was named for the castle.
Zandenburg was a famous castle just south of Veere. Nothing remains of it, except some foundations below ground level.
Wolfert III van Borselen was Lord of Veere and Zandenburg.
Floris I van Haamstede was Lord of Haamstede Castle on Schouwen, and of several other areas in Zeeland, Netherlands.
Moermond Castle is a castle in Renesse on Schouwen-Duiveland.
Baarland Castle is a former castle in Baarland, Netherlands.
Sint-Maartensdijk Castle was a castle with a rich history. Except for a part of the moats nothing remains of it.
Sabbinge Castle is a small castle in Oud-Sabbinge, on the former island Wolphaartsdijk
Ter Hooge Castle is an 18th-century manor in Middelburg. It includes parts of a medieval castle.
