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

Enda Mannion (3 years ago)
Great place to stop for a short walk round the moat and coffee in historic atmosphere, there is a Café in the inner cobblestone courtyard. The fortified inner keep building is closed. See if you can find the huge hollow tree.

Selwyn Nypels (4 years 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 (4 years ago)
Excellently preserved castle, where you can actually spend a night as some of the buildings have opened as B&B.

Bas Wiltink (4 years 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 (5 years 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. ?️??️?️?⚔️

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Klearchos Kapoutsis

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The history of the castle is the subject of different legends.

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