Loenersloot Castle, Loenersloot, Netherlands

Loenersloot Castle is located on the left bank of the river Angstel, accesible via a wooden lifting bridge. Although the Van Loenersloot family is mentioned already in 1156, the existence of this castle is first mentioned in 1258. The Loenersloot family, who played a rather important part in the life of the village in the 12th century, built the oldest parts of the castle.

In 1516 the castle was bought by Amelis van Amstel van Mijnden, who already owned the Mijnden Castle and the Kronenburg Castle. After his death the Loenersloot Castle was left to his second son, also named Amelis. The castle stayed in the possession of this family until the 17th century. That was when the last male descendant of the family died. There were three heiresses, only one of whom married. Maria Johanna van Amstel van Mijnded married Pieter Reinier, baron of Stepraedt. Their son Diederik Johan inherited Loenersloot, but also the estates of Doddeldael and Ewijk. Due to the number of castles the family owned, they no longer lived at Loenersloot, but rented the castle out to different people.

In 1766 the castle was bought by Hendrik Willem van Hoorn. These were not good times for the castle, since van Hoorn began to tear the castle down. Four years later, however, he went bankrupt and therefore sold the castle to Andries Jan Strick van Lindschoten. Andries Jan conserved the castle’s medieval appearance. The last owner, M.F.M. baroness van Nagell, created a Foundation for the castle. Because every family added something to the building, the appearance of the castle stems mainly from the 17th and 18th centuries, with only the round defence towers dating from the 13th century.

Today Loenersloot Castle is a private residence, therefore access for the public is restricted.

References:

castles.info

Birds eye view from Castle Loenersloot. Maby a nice link to share. Kind regards. Dan

User Reviews

Swarali Raut (16 months ago)
Beautiful castle and surrounding park, very well maintained by the foundation. Our guide was extraordinarily kind and accommodated our lack of dutch skills by giving us a tour in English. You can enjoy a great view from the top of the tower and hear all about the history of the castle and surrounding area. PS: it's only accessible by booking the guided tour.

Orsolya Kerekes (2 years ago)
Such a nice place and perfec for a picnic

Robert Diel (3 years ago)
Loenersloot Castle is a castle and former knightly court town in Loenersloot, located on the western bank of the river Angstel. The castle is first mentioned in 1258. At that time it probably only consisted of a defense tower (donjon). It remained in the Van Loenersloot family until 1435, when it was sold to the Van Swieten family and in 1516 to the Van Amstel van Mijnden family. In 1707 the castle came into the possession of Diederik Johan baron van Stepraedt and in 1766 of Hendrik Willem van Hoorn. The latter gentleman started with demolition, but when he went bankrupt four years later, the property was sold to Andries Strick van Linschoten. In the 19th century, the 13th-century residential tower was completely walled up and provided with battlements. The other parts of the castle date from the 14th/15th century (the wings) and the 18th century, when the existing buildings were merged into a country estate. After their marriage in 1791, the castle came into the possession of the Martini Buys family; the last resident was Jkvr Magdalena Ferdinanda Maria Martini Buys (1909-1997). At the insistence of Baron Taets van Amerongen, she transferred the castle to the Loenersloot Castle Foundation in 1985. The King's Commissioner of the Province of Utrecht is a member of the foundation board. Since 2011, the Utrecht Landscape Foundation has managed the castle complex on behalf of the Loenersloot Castle Foundation. In 2012/13 the castle and the castle park were radically restored and partly opened to the public. Small groups are allowed to visit the castle to view some of the rooms accompanied by a guide who conducts the tour inside the castle and tells us about the rooms. It was a great experience and unforgettable. Please bear in mind to order tickets online prior to visit to make a reservation. The castle is not wheelchair accessible. The surroundings and the park though are well worth a visit on their own.

gabi (3 years ago)
A nice path trough the nature

Martin Dedic (4 years ago)
Beautiful place for any activities ?

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