Top 7 Castles around the Lek

Huys ten Donck is a monumental country house dating from 1746, located in Ridderkerk, South Holland. It is surrounded by a beautiful 18th-century park in the English landscape style. The house is still privately occupied by descendants of the original family and is occasionally open for tours, events, and weddings. The estate is also popular for walking in the green surroundings.

The castle is still under construction. It began as a sandcastle. According to the "architect/artist," it has evolved over 30 years through many stages of rebuilding and experimentation into what it stands today. It will certainly take another 10 years to complete. He says all the materials are locally sourced. He indicated that he finds a lot of them on the beaches of the floodplains. A life's work that is also sometimes destroyed by both the rising waters at high tide and by vandals. He has therefore pronounced a curse on them. You who harm this castle, you shall weep for your deed. Do not laugh in contempt at this curse. Let your path be dark, the end is lost. You shall burn in the Devil's Evil. During our conversation with him, the architect/artist came across as a remarkable eccentric with a great sense of humor. A remarkable person, so to speak.

In the municipality of Ridderkerk, in the Riederwaard near Slikkeveer, lies the castle ruin of the noble Van Woude family, which held a fiefdom belonging to the count. Construction of the castle began in 1372 but was never completed because the Riederwaard flooded in 1373. The existing walls withstood the flood, but were torn down during the Hook and Cod Wars. During the St. Elizabeth's Flood in 1421, the remains were covered with a layer of clay. The castle measured approximately fifteen by twenty meters. A wall divided the building lengthwise into two naves. There was at least one floor, which likely housed a representative hall. The ground floor resembled a cellar lit by slit windows. Because the rising walls were only 50 to 65 centimeters thick, Huis te Woude likely served residential purposes rather than defense.

Lady Aleida is a statue of Aleid van Holland in Schiedam. The artwork dates from 1991 and was made by Theresia van der Pant, who was born in Schiedam. Aleida was the one who built the swamp settlement, Schiedam, into a city with walls and city rights in the thirteenth century. The bronze statue, placed on a marble slab, shows Aleida dressed in a long robe with a headdress that is tied with a band under the chin. The statue has been on the Broersvest in Schiedam since 1998 at the ruins of Huis te Riviere castle that Aleid van Holland founded in 1262. Before that, the statue stood for a long time on the square in front of the Stedelijk Museum.

Duurstede Castle is one of the oldest castles in the Netherlands and is located on an island in the middle of a park, where you can walk over the moat via a fairytale drawbridge. The castle is mainly rented out for weddings and events. You can therefore only visit it by appointment. The terrace is open every Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., if there is no event taking place at that time.

The trail through the park is open to bicycles.

Dutch and German: --- Dutch🇳🇱: Duurstede is a medieval castle in the town of Wijk bij Duurstede (Dutch province of Utrecht). ----- Castle type: ->Water castle ->Building material ->Brick ->Current function ->Rented for parties and gatherings ->Built in from 13th century ->Monumental status National monument Monument number 454308 --------- The history of the castle goes back to the early 13th century when the count of Bentheim gave a fortified house, located near the place where Dorestad used to be, to the family of Abcoude. In 1270 Zweder I van Abcoude built a heavy brick residential tower (which is still there today). The house remained in the possession of the Abcoude family until 1449, when it was forcibly sold to the bishop of Utrecht and eventually came into the possession of the Sticht. Bishop David of Burgundy, who owned the castle between 1459 and 1496, had the castle thoroughly renovated. The old donjon was completely enclosed by new construction. During this renovation, the still intact Burgundian tower was also built. David's successors, Frederick IV of Baden and Philip of Burgundy, also used the castle as their residence. The last major expansion of the castle took place in 1577. Then an earthen, bastioned wall was built around the castle. Although the castle was still in good condition in 1640, it fell completely into a ruin somewhere in the second half of the 17th century. ruin. A print from 1700 shows that not much was left of the once proud building. This decline was the result of austerity and neglect on the part of the Sticht, and of destruction by French troops during the disaster year of 1672. A common misunderstanding is based on the assumption that the French troops destroyed Duurstede Castle. The Castle, which posed no immediate threat, was left untouched by the French troops. As a result of the heavy destruction of Wijk bij Duurstede, the stones of Duurstede Castle, which was derelict at the time, were reused for the reconstruction of the city. ---- German 🇩🇪: Duurstede ist eine mittelalterliche Burg in der Stadt Wijk bij Duurstede (niederländische Provinz Utrecht). ----- Burg type: -> Wasserburg ->Baumaterial : Ziegel Aktuelle Funktion : Vermietet für Feste und Versammlungen ->Erbaut ab dem 13. Jahrhundert -> Denkmalstatus Nationaldenkmal -> Thinking mold number 454308 ---- Die Geschichte der Burg reicht bis ins frühe 13. Jahrhundert zurück, als der Graf von Bentheim der Familie von Abcoude donated ein befestigtes Haus in der Nähe des Ortes, an dem sich früher Dorestad befand. 1270 baute Zweder I. van Abcoude einen Wohnturm aus schwerem Backstein (der nor heute steht). Das Haus blieb bis 1449 im Besitz der Familie Abcoude, als es zwangsweise an den Bischof von Utrecht verkauft wurde und schließlich in den Besitz der Sticht kam. Bishop David von Burgund, dem die Burg von 1459 bis 1496 gehörte, ließ die Burg gründlich renovieren. Der alte Bergfried wurde komplett von Neubauten umschlossen. Bei dieser Renovierung wurde auch der noch intakte burgundische Turm errichtet. Auch die Nachfolger Davids, Friedrich IV. von Baden und Philipp von Burgund, nutzten die Burg as Residenz. Die letzte größere Erweiterung der Burg erfolgte im Jahr 1577. Dann wurde eine bastionierte Erdmauer um die Burg herum errichtet.Obwohl die Burg 1640 noch in gutem Zustand war, Verfiel sie irgendwann in der zweiten Hälfte des 17. Jahrhunderts vollständig ... ruinieren. Ein Druck aus dem Jahr 1700 zeigt, dass von dem einst stolzen Gebäude nicht mehrviel übrig war. Dieser Verlust war das Ergebnis von Kürzungen und Nachlässigkeiten seitens der Sticht sowie der Zerstörung durch französische Truppen im Katastrophenjahr 1672. Die Burg, die keine unmittelbare Bedrohung darstellte, wurde von den Französischen Truppen unberührt welded. Infolge der schweren Zerstörung von Wijk bij Duurstede wurden die Steine des damals verfallenen Schlosses Duurstede für den Wiederaufbau der Stadt wiederverwendet

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