Hernen Castle, Hernen, Netherlands

The origins of Hernen lie to the west of the present castle, next to the river Elst. That is where the first motte castle of Hernen was sited, and remained in use until the 12th/13th century. This was possibly also the fortress of the Lords of Hernen, who first appear in the records in 1247. The lord received income through taxes and special privileges, such as the milling rights. This income enabled him to extend his castle, which in turn increased his status.

Around that time, Hernen was partly in Cleves and partly in Gelderland. In the 14th century, work started on the construction of the present castle, which was sited on the Gelderland part. Later, everything came again under one estate. The east wing and the monumental entry gate date from 1555. A special feature is the covered patrol path - quite rare in the Netherlands.

The castle never suffered war damage or natural disasters. In the last century, the lord of the castle hardly ever lived there, leaving the administration to a steward. There was no urge to embellish the castle according to the latest fashion in architecture, and consequently the castle was able to keep its austere, medieval character.

References:

Exciting History

User Reviews

Mireille Riesenbeck (15 months ago)
Castle in authentic form, has never been modernized. Lovely tour through the castle with talking lanterns. The diorama which tells the history of the castle is quite spectacular. My favorite castle by far!

J V A (15 months ago)
Castle build in 1555, definitely worth a visit if your in the area. Not always open to the public. Check the opening days and times before you go. There is also a nice garden and walking track next to the castle.

Lia Del Rosario (2 years ago)
There is a garden beside the castle in where you can see a person greeting you just to charge you stating it's a private garden when you are heading out; other than that, it's a beautiful experience.

Sofi Samsura (3 years ago)
Surprisingly very interesting castle. They have a very interactive way to get the children interested on the history of the castle. They have a talking lantern as a guide that can explains to you the history of every room in the castle.

Nancy Underwood (4 years ago)
Didn't go inside, but the castle was nice to see and walk around.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright Roman Moško

Historic Site of the week

Trencín Castle

Trenčín Castle is relatively large renovated castle, towering on a steep limestone cliff directly above the city of Trenčín. It is a dominant feature not only of Trenčín, but also of the entire Považie region. The castle is a national monument.

History of the castle cliff dates back to the Roman Empire, what is proved by the inscription on the castle cliff proclaiming the victory of Roman legion against Germans in the year 179.

Today’s castle was probably built on the hill-fort. The first proven building on the hill was the Great Moravian rotunda from the 9th century and later there was a stone residential tower, which served to protect the Kingdom of Hungary and the western border. In the late 13th century the castle became a property of Palatine Matúš Csák, who became Mr. of Váh and Tatras.

Matúš Csák of Trenčín built a tower, still known as Matthew’s, which is a dominant determinant of the whole building.

Hernen Castle

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Historical Gems of Costa Verde

Historic Site of the week

Trencín Castle