Eijsden Castle, Eijsden, Netherlands

Eijsden Castle is a moated manor house with several farm buildings, a gatehouse and castle park, in Eijsden-Margraten, Limburg, Netherlands. The current castle was built in 1636, renovated in 1767, and restored between 1881-1886. The castle is made up out of two angled wings with at the outside corner a heavy cornertower flanked by a small stair tower. At the end of the eastwing Athere is another towerlike building containing a gate which grands access to the inner square. On top of this gate is placed the year of completion and the arms of the De Lamargelle and von Bocholtz families. The whole is surrounded by a moat. The castle is built in Mosan Renaissance-style.

First mention of the castle was in 1334 when 'den hof tot Esde' was granted to Dyederic van Montjoy en Valkenburg by John III, Duke of Brabant. In 1558 Eijsden was owned by Arnold II Huyn van Amstenrade, lord of Geleen, drossaerd of Valkenburg, governor of Brabant owned Maastricht and captain-general of Limburg and the lands east of the Maas. His daughter Anna married Willem de Lamargelle, and their son, Arnold de Lamargelle, build the current castle in 1636-1637. By inheritance the castle was owned successively by the families van Hoensbroeck, de Geloes and de Liedekerke, who are the current owners of the castle.

Next to the castle is a gatebuilding with sidebuilding, built in 1649 when a fire destroyed the earlier buildings. They were restored between 1883-1885.

The castle park, created around 1900, is open to the public. It was designed by French garden artist Achille Duchêne (1866-1947), replacing an earlier 18th century park. Of this original 18th century park only a small part remains on the northside of the castle, where there is also an 18th-century basement for the storage of ice. The current park has a neo-rococo pond and a group of statues containing three putti.

The castle is located on or near the location of a medieval castle, named Caestertburg or Kettelhof. During the early Middle Ages the court and fertile riverlands were owned by the prince-bishops of Liège.

References:

Wikipedia

Castles and fortifications in Netherlands

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.

Julia Kolesnyk (12 months ago)
Castle is awesome! It's free to get in to the territory, so anyone can check it out. The park around it is super pretty, making it a great spot to just chill. Definitely a cool place to visit!

Ferran Saenz (2 years ago)
An impressive castle a few blocks away from Eijsden commercial street. Nice gardens around the main building allow for a quiet stroll!

Svetlin Slavchov (2 years ago)
Nice and well maintained place .

kwang hee cho (3 years ago)
I highly recommend this place, especially the small tunnel created by the lush forest was very impressive.

Nikhil Surdi (3 years ago)
Nice and peaceful place for a picnic. Sculpted tree tunnel is awesome. Water is a little dirty but has lot of beautiful dishes.

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Sigmaringen Castle