Rosendael Castle, Rozendaal, Netherlands

Around 1300, Rosendael Castle came into the hands of the counts and later dukes of Gelre. Of the 20 castles in the dukedom, Rosendael was the favourite of many dukes, because of its beautiful location on the edge of the Veluwe moraine.

The large medieval complex contained a forecourt, a main fortress and a substantial donjon. Only the round donjon has survived the ravages of time. It has walls of up to 4 metres thick and was the last refuge in the event of siege for the duke and his family. Although it is the highest tower of its kind in the Netherlands, it was originally twice as high.

The ducal family resided regularly at the castle until the 16th century. But then the tide turned. In 1502, Philip the Handsome captured the city of Arnhem. Duke Charles of Gelre was humiliated in his own castle of Rosendael by Philip. Charles was forced to make peace and was exiled from Gelre. The incident became known as 'the prostration of Rosendael'.

When Philip died in 1506, Charles managed to regain the dukedom of Gelre at great financial expense. As a result, in 1516 he was forced to mortgage his beloved castle and even to sell it 20 years later. He died a few years afterwards and the dukedom soon lost its independence. Rosendael Castle came into the hands of various noble families, who occupied it for almost 400 years.

In 1722 a square house was built abutting the big tower. The side wing and coach house were built a century later. Beautiful gardens were laid out around these, and the famous French landscape gardener Daniel Marot designed the shell gallery, the trick fountains and the tea pavilion, all of which have been preserved. They give the austere medieval castle the character of a peaceful country house.

During the war, Rosendael was hit hard a number of times. It ceased to be a private residence in 1977 when Baron van Pallandt died. The castle was fully restored in the nineteen-eighties and opened to the public.

References:

Exciting History

User Reviews

Andrii Prokopets (20 months ago)
The castle is very well restored. The interiors are richly decorated. The paintings were belonging to the people who lived there for the hundreds years. According to the guides, the last owners took almost all furniture with you before leaving the castle. The current furniture is from the same periods and as close in the style to the original as it was possible for museum to find and purchase. The results are stunning. The individual visiting of the castle is possible. We were lucky to get some additional mini excursion courtesy to the museum. Many thanks ? to staff for providing insight in the history. Visiting park is absolutely must. Unlike most of the parks in the Netherlands this one has real hills and small water falls. The grotto with waterfall is a gem. It's decorated by shells and real corals. There is a tricky fountain which starts dosing you suddenly. Reserve 3-4 hours to visit park and castle. The cafe offers lunches - soups, sandwiches pastries tea and coffee. Chocolate pie is yummy. I liked fruit tea with fresh oranges, cinnamon sticks and paciflora. Please note there are wedding ceremonies on Sundays from time to time. The castle may be closed for the period of ceremonies. Also, some markets take place on the territory occasionally.

William Veraar (2 years ago)
Beautiful ❤️ place. Worth the money. Free parking nearby. Not crowded. Nice scenery. You can totally relax ?

Matt Sutton (2 years ago)
Fantastic place, stunning gardens, a little market today (Sunday 17th July), we had a macaroons and a coffee. It was very peaceful even with all the other visitors. Would definitely recommend a visit.

Emrah Onder (3 years ago)
An incredibly beautiful place, very close to the center of Arnhem. This castle is more than seven centuries old. It is the former residence of the Counts and Dukes of Gelre. The Rosendael Castle dates from the late Middle Ages and was built by the Count of Gelre. The characteristic donjon (residential tower) was originally about 25 meters high and has a diameter of 16 meters. This makes it the largest tower of its kind in the Netherlands. Only this keep remains of the original castle. From 1722 a square house was built on the tower, which strongly resembles an Amsterdam canal house. The Rosendael Castle collection offers a fantastic picture of how people used to live in the castles in the Netherlands . Don't miss the special collection of furniture, silver and porcelain. The surrounding landscape park is beautiful and offers many surprises. I highly recommend whether you're a nature lover or want to learn more about how the nobility lives. In addition to visiting the castle, visiting its beautiful garden gives peace of mind. The day when we visited the garden was rainy, as you will see below, we had a chance to take a picture with rainbow. maybe you can catch a similar one.

Irem Yurdasan (3 years ago)
We went to big national park nearby to this place. On the way back we say amazing place we were like let's stop here. It wasn't a super shinny day but still it is looking like a fairtale. A part of the garden there was a wedding ceremony which felt so nice. Unfortunately we went there quite late and we couldn't go inside of the castle or the full garden part. I have took the picture which I am sharing only from outside of the castle. Castle and the garden for adults is 12 euro but there is option to visit only the garden which is 6 euro. I would go back again and see those beautiful castle and most importantly the garden. Both garden and castle close around 17 and Monday is closed. They have also nice coffee var in the garden.

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