Loevestein Castle, Poederoijen, Netherlands

Loevestein Castle (Slot Loevestein in Dutch) is a medieval castle built by the knight Dirc Loef van Horne (hence 'Loef's stein') between 1357 and 1397. It was built in a strategic location where the Maas and Waal rivers come together. At first it was a simple square brick building, used to charge toll from trading vessels using the rivers. In the 16th century (around 1575, orders given by William the Silent) it was expanded to a larger fortress surrounded by earthen fortifications with two (later three) stone bastions on the northern side, two moats, an arsenal, and housing for a commander and soldiers.

Loevestein changed hands twice between the Northern Dutch and the Spanish (December 9, 1570 it was taken by the Geuzen, ten days later Spanish again, and from June 25, 1572 Dutch till this day), the warring parties of the day. The castle became a prison for political prisoners in 1619. One famous inmate was the eminent lawyer, poet and politician Hugo de Groot (Hugo Grotius) often presented as the 'father of modern international law', who was serving a controversially imposed life sentence from 1619. In 1621 Hugo de Groot managed to pull off a daring escape in a book chest. The idea for this escape came from his wife Maria van Reigersberg (also living in the castle). He subsequently became the Swedish Ambassador to France for 10 years. Another high profile inmate was the English Vice-Admiral George Ayscue.

Until the Second World War Loevestein Castle was part of the Nieuwe Hollandse Waterlinie, the main Dutch defense line that was based on flooding an area of land south and east of the western provinces. Currently the castle is used as a medieval museum and function centre.

References:

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User Reviews

Jo Couto (2 years ago)
Beautiful place !!! You will certainly have a pleasant day, with luck and even hear stories about the old prison! But there is only one food option!

Marcel Loeve (2 years ago)
Fantastic historical castle with a great variety of exhibits, information and activities for all to enjoy. Definitely recommend for a visit with friends and family. Very friendly and professional staff to assist you. Parking is a short walk away from the castle but it allows you to take in the beautiful views.

Zetske De Beer (2 years ago)
BEAUTIFUL SURROUNDINGS! We were so enchanted by the area around the castle - the fields, water and magnificent horses on the hiking trail came as such a wonderful surprise! We will definitely bring our bicycles next time to explore even more. The castle itself is well taken care of and the staff is super friendly and helpful. We visited the castle late on a Saturday afternoon so we were unfortunately not able to visit the restaurant (also on the the list to do next time!) They have some fun summer holiday activities for the kids as well as castle tours. We spent about 2 hours on the premises - it wasn't busy at all. A very pleasant outing!

Fengjing Zhang (2 years ago)
It is worth a visit. There are interesting stories about the castle. English text is available. There happens to a show about human rights by amnesty international in the castle. Surrounding is beautiful.

Ravikrishnan R Nair (2 years ago)
More than the castle, the location is what makes this place more attractive. The castle on a river bank adds a lot of walking space to relax and enjoy. Definitely, an excellent place to spend time with your friends and family. We didn't take the guided tour, but I have a feeling that it would have been worth it. There is a good amount of space to get into and a fair amount of stairs to climb. Inside the Castle is not wheelchair or child stroller friendly. If kids with you can walk and climb stairs with help its gonna be an adventure for them. There is adequete walking space around the castle with good views to the river as well as to the nature around. The silence is very pristine. Perhaps we were lucky that it was not crowded at all on the day of the visit. There is also a tavern and exhibition hall in the compound along with other amenities. And a play area for kids too. All in all you can spend a day easily over there if you drag time. I would recommend consider spending half a day. Combining with a river cruise with water taxi or the regular service will also be an additional cheer.

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