Doornenburg Castle, Doornenburg, Netherlands

Originally the Doornenburg castle was a fortified manor built in the 9th century, under the name Villa Dorenburc. In the 13th century it was converted into a modest castle. Through the centuries the castle was expanded further into the current form. The front-castle was built in the 15th century. The front-castle contains sleeping quarters, a chapeland a farm, the last being a unique feature for a Dutch castle. It is one of the biggest and best preserved castles in the Netherlands.

Castle Doornenburg was occupied until the 19th century. After that it fell into neglect. In 1936 the Stichting tot Behoud van den Doornenburg was created, which had the castle restored from 1937 to 1941. In the end of the Second World War the castle was almost completely destroyed. It was long thought the Germans had blown it up, but it turned out that the castle had been hit by a British bombardment in March 1945. The castle was completely rebuilt from 1947 to 1968.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Selwyn Nypels (2 months ago)
The location is wonderful! De food doesn't quite live up to the surroundings, that said, we only ordered a small dish.

steve yeaman (3 months ago)
Excellently preserved castle, where you can actually spend a night as some of the buildings have opened as B&B.

Bas Wiltink (3 months ago)
Nice castle quite authentic. Actually the most authentic medival castle in Holland. The B & B and LARP events are worth checking out. There is a opportunity to rent boats and kanos on the opposite shore of the castle.

Benoni Budding (14 months ago)
A castle as you would imagine it! Where a knight used to live, who fought for the Duke of Gelre. A fortress with a moat and a draw bridge. Floris (a TV series about a knight with Rutger Hauer) was set in this castle. Cool! They have a great collection of armor and weaponry, documents and there's personell in authentic clothing standing by to answer questions. Great castle experience! We walked to Arnhem from there but I would recommend taking the bike there from Arnhem. It's really nice. ?️??️?️?⚔️

Sergio Castellani (19 months ago)
Unexpected medieval castle in the middle of nowhere. Destroyes in 1945 but carefully rebuilt in 1965,i think it keeps perfectly all the "original" atmosphere. The court can be visited for free,the main building i dont know. The surroundings as well are worth a nice walk or bike ride. Bello

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The Palace of the Kings of Navarre of Olite was one of the seats of the Court of the Kingdom of Navarre, since the reign of Charles III 'the Noble' until its conquest by Castile (1512). The fortification is both castle and palace, although it was built more like a courtier building to fulfill a military function.

On an ancient Roman fortification was built during the reign of Sancho VII of Navarre (13th century) and extended by his successors Theobald I and Theobald II, which the latter was is installed in the palace in 1269 and there he signed the consent letter for the wedding of Blanche of Artois with his brother Henry I of Navarre, who in turn, Henry I since 1271 used the palace as a temporary residence. This ancient area is known as the Old Palace.

Then the palace was housing the Navarrese court from the 14th until 16th centuries, Since the annexation (integration) of the kingdom of Navarre for the Crown of Castile in 1512 began the decline of the castle and therefore its practically neglect and deterioration. At that time it was an official residence for the Viceroys of Navarre.

In 1813 Navarrese guerrilla fighter Espoz y Mina during the Napoleonic French Invasion burned the palace with the aim to French could not make forts in it, which almost brought in ruin. It is since 1937 when architects José and Javier Yarnoz Larrosa began the rehabilitation (except the non-damaged church) for the castle palace, giving it back its original appearance and see today. The restoration work was completed in 1967 and was paid by the Foral Government of Navarre.

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