Valkhof

Nijmegen, Netherlands

The Valkhof is on a hill overlooking the river. It is the site of a former Charlemagne fortification and the surviving Carolingian elements are quite modest. There are two buildings with a Carolingian element. The first is an octogon chapel built in the style of Aachen in the 8th or 9th century. The initial building was constructed about 1000 and rebuilt about 1400. It used material from Charlemagne's fortification and we think we could identify some of these Caroilingian flat bricks. The second building is the ruin of Barbarossa's chapel that incorporated several Carolingian capitals on Roman pilars in the chapel.

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Address

Lange Baan 2, Nijmegen, Netherlands
See all sites in Nijmegen

Details

Founded: c. 1000 AD
Category: Religious sites in Netherlands

More Information

home.eckerd.edu
www.guideholland.com

Rating

4/5 (based on Google user reviews)

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User Reviews

Robbert Gommans (2 years ago)
One of the more famous Nijmegen Museums, focuses on art and historical findings. Has very interesting changing collections sometimes. Especially interesting to find out more about the (Roman) history of the city.
Simon (2 years ago)
Really nice local museum. Beautiful light modern architecture. They have some stuff about the Roman history of the city, some medieval things, some temporary exhibitions, and something cool for children. The descriptions are mostly in Dutch and German. They serve proper espresso. The people working there were very friendly.
2dkayak (2 years ago)
Order of the display could improve to accommodate the large number of people visiting the Maria van Gelre exhibit.
Mariska Groen (3 years ago)
Lovely bright museum showing the exhibition ‘Maria van Gelre’, a surprising insight in 1400s government, church connected by art, guided by the prayerbook of an extraordinary powerful woman. Parking garage next door and easy to be combined with a town visit
Hans Pille (3 years ago)
Amazing special exhibitions. The Maria van Gelre prayer book (end 2018) is excellent.
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Glimmingehus

Glimmingehus is the best preserved medieval stronghold in Scandinavia. It was built 1499-1506, during an era when Scania formed a vital part of Denmark, and contains many defensive arrangements of the era, such as parapets, false doors and dead-end corridors, 'murder-holes' for pouring boiling pitch over the attackers, moats, drawbridges and various other forms of death traps to surprise trespassers and protect the nobles against peasant uprisings. The lower part of the castle's stone walls are 2.4 meters (94 inches) thick and the upper part 1.8 meters (71 inches).

Construction was started in 1499 by the Danish knight Jens Holgersen Ulfstand and stone-cutter-mason and architect Adam van Düren, a North German master who also worked on Lund Cathedral. Construction was completed in 1506.

Ulfstand was a councillor, nobleman and admiral serving under John I of Denmark and many objects have been uncovered during archeological excavations that demonstrate the extravagant lifestyle of the knight's family at Glimmingehus up until Ulfstand's death in 1523. Some of the most expensive objects for sale in Europe during this period, such as Venetian glass, painted glass from the Rhine district and Spanish ceramics have been found here. Evidence of the family's wealth can also be seen inside the stone fortress, where everyday comforts for the knight's family included hot air channels in the walls and bench seats in the window recesses. Although considered comfortable for its period, it has also been argued that Glimmingehus was an expression of "Knighthood nostalgia" and not considered opulent or progressive enough even to the knight's contemporaries and especially not to later generations of the Scanian nobility. Glimmingehus is thought to have served as a residential castle for only a few generations before being transformed into a storage facility for grain.

An order from Charles XI to the administrators of the Swedish dominion of Scania in 1676 to demolish the castle, in order to ensure that it would not fall into the hands of the Danish king during the Scanian War, could not be executed. A first attempt, in which 20 Scanian farmers were ordered to assist, proved unsuccessful. An additional force of 130 men were sent to Glimmingehus to execute the order in a second attempt. However, before they could carry out the order, a Danish-Dutch naval division arrived in Ystad, and the Swedes had to abandon the demolition attempts. Throughout the 18th century the castle was used as deposit for agricultural produce and in 1924 it was donated to the Swedish state. Today it is administered by the Swedish National Heritage Board.

On site there is a museum, medieval kitchen, shop and restaurant and coffee house. During summer time there are several guided tours daily. In local folklore, the castle is described as haunted by multiple ghosts and the tradition of storytelling inspired by the castle is continued in the summer events at the castle called "Strange stories and terrifying tales".

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