Middachten Castle, De Steeg, Netherlands

Middachten Castle was first time mentioned in 1190, owned by Jacobus de Mithdac. Early in the 14th century Everardus van Steenre transferred its ownership to Reinald, count of Gelre. Everardus then got the castle back as a loan in 1357. The castle would remain with this family until 1625. During this time the castle was destroyed and rebuild several times. In 1673 Stadtholder William III conquered the city of Bonn, making the occupying French troops retreat, who destroyed the castle. Godard van Reede and his spouse Ursula van Raesfelt then had the castle rebuild, based on the example of Het Loo Palace in Apeldoorn. It was designed by Jacobus Roman (1640-1716) and Steven Vennecool (1657-1719).

After the castle was rebuilt in 1698 a garden was built, based on the garden in Versailles in the period 1700-1725. In the late 18th century British style gardens became fashion, and the gardens were redone in this style. In 1900 count and countessa Bentinck-Van Heeckeren of Wassenaer had the gardens partially rebuilt in the original style by Hugo Poortman (a student of French garden artist Édouard André).

The castle used to have an extensive estate. However these are no longer owned by the owners of the castle. Buildings that used to belong to the castle estate can be recognized by the red and white coloring, for example the Post office in De Steeg.

References:

Wikipedia

Castles and fortifications in Netherlands

User Reviews

Simon van de Beek (3 years ago)
Nice castle to visit. Took a tour which was rather superficial but still pleasant to see. Must be expensive to maintain this place!

Andries Knetemann (5 years ago)
Thuis was al real beautifull garden i would like to say a micro Versallie

Clara Buchwald (5 years ago)
Lovely gardens and castle. Small shop in the Orangerie had good service though there wasn't a lot to choose from. The grands were very well kept and organized.

Leslie Ash (5 years ago)
Beautiful from outside the gates. Not opened to the public in February.

Judy Lin-Kalff (6 years ago)
Lovely castle which is still home to the family after 800 years. Didn't get to see the inside of the castle, which is only open on Sundays, but the gardens are open to the public most days of the week. Beautiful displays and flowers, the picture of opulence.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright discopalace

Historic Site of the week

Sigmaringen Castle

Sigmaringen Castle was first mentioned in the year 1077 in the chronicles of Petershausen monastery. The oldest parts of the castle are concealed beneath the alterations made during the 17th and the 19th centuries. The secret of the earliest settlement built on this defendable rock will never be fully revealed: large-scale excavation work would be necessary, which the extensive land development renders impossible. Judging from the many Roman remains unearthed in the area around Sigmaringen, the 12th century keep known as the 'Roman Tower' could be traced back to a Roman predecessor.

The castle remains that have been preserved (gate, great hall and keep) date back to the Staufer period around 1200. The castle remains were integrated into subsequent buildings. The foundations of the castle buildings are to a large extent identical to the surrounding castle wall.

These remains give us a good idea of how the castle might have looked during the 12th century.

Middachten Castle

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Historic Site of the week

Sigmaringen Castle