Amerongen Castle (Dutch: ''Kasteel Amerongen'', ) is a castle in

Amerongen Amerongen () is a town in the municipality of Utrechtse Heuvelrug in the province of Utrecht, Netherlands, on the border of the Utrecht Hill Ridge. It lies about 7 km (4.3 mi) southwest of Veenendaal (10.5 km or 6.5 mi by road). Th ...

Utrechtse Heuvelrug Utrechtse Heuvelrug (; en, "Utrecht Hill Ridge") is a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht. It was formed on 1 January 2006 by merging the former municipalities of Amerongen, Doorn, Driebergen-Rijsenburg, Leersum, and Maarn ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. It was built between 1674 and 1680, on the site of a medieval castle that had been burned down by the French in 1673. The gardens still contain historic elements such as a conservatory dating from the 1890s. In 1918, the former German Kaiser

Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor (german: Kaiser) and King of Prussia, reigning from 15 June 1888 until his abdication on 9 November 1918. Despite strengthening the German Empir ...

signed his

abdication Abdication is the act of formally relinquishing monarchical authority. Abdications have played various roles in the succession procedures of monarchies. While some cultures have viewed abdication as an extreme abandonment of duty, in other societ ...

here and stayed till 1920, when he moved to

Huis Doorn Huis Doorn (; en, Doorn Manor) is a manor house and national museum in the town of Doorn in the Netherlands. The residence has early 20th-century interiors from the time when former German Emperor Wilhelm II resided there (1919–1941). Huis Do ...

History

The current building was designed by the architect

Maurits Post Maurits Post (ca. 10 December 1645 – 6 June 1677) was a Dutch Golden Age architect. Biography Post was born in Haarlem, the son of the architect Pieter Post, and was probably his assistant, as he took over his father's projects when he died i ...

as a baroque palace for the owners Godard Adriaan van Reede and his wife Margaretha Turnor. In the main hall a central staircase with painted ceiling was built by Willem van Nimwegen.Rijksmonument report Other ornaments were added in the early 20th century by P.J.H. Cuypers. The gardens contain historical elements and the walls predate 1673. Near the entrance bridge dating from 1678 is a wooden clock tower from 1728 that contains the original clock of the same date. In the northeast corner of the gardens is an

orangerie An orangery or orangerie was a room or a dedicated building on the grounds of fashionable residences of Northern Europe from the 17th to the 19th centuries where orange and other fruit trees were protected during the winter, as a very large ...

dating from the 1880s; the north wall was raised during the period when

was residing there 1918–1920. He abdicated in Amerongen then moved to

Video installation

Interieur, overzicht van de waskeuken in het onderhuis - Amerongen - 20423870 - RCE

From 2002 to 2011 the castle was restored as a partnership between the

Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed (RCE, Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands) often abbreviated as Cultureel Erfgoed, is a Dutch heritage organisation working for the protection and conservation of National Heritage Sites. It is located ...

and various funds in the cultural heritage sector. To celebrate the completion of the restoration activities, a

video installation Video installation is a contemporary art form that combines video technology with installation art, making use of all aspects of the surrounding environment to affect the audience. Tracing its origins to the birth of video art in the 1970s, it has ...

by Saskia Boddeke and

Peter Greenaway Peter Greenaway, (born 5 April 1942) is a Welsh film director, screenwriter and artist. His films are noted for the distinct influence of Renaissance and Baroque painting, and Flemish painting in particular. Common traits in his films are the ...

was presented to visitors at the castle from July 1, 2011, to June 21, 2012. Through sophisticated video projections visitors are taken back in time to 21 June 1680. In 37 minutes the story is told on 21 different screens throughout the castle. The castle functions today as a museum and is open from 11 to 5 PM from Thursday to Sunday.

Cast

* '' Margaretha Turnor'' —

Anneke Blok Anneke Blok (born 24 December 1959) is a Dutch actress. She won the 2008 Golden Calf for Best Actress award for her performance as Anne in ''Tiramisu Tiramisu ( it, tiramisù , from , "pick me up" or "cheer me up") is a coffee-flavoured It ...

* '' Godard Adriaan van Reede'' —

Gijs Scholten van Aschat Gijs Scholten van Aschat (born 16 September 1959) is a Dutch actor. He has appeared in more than sixty films since 1980. He is the father of Reinout Scholten van Aschat Reinout Scholten van Aschat (born 9 November 1989) is a Dutch actor. ...

* ''Godard van Ginckel'' — Francis Broekhuijsen * ''Sanne van Wierix'' — Maartje Teussink * ''Gideon Momper'' — Fabian Jansen * ''Oulder Bogarde'' — Hendrik Aerts * ''Nelleke Trappen'' —

Kitty Courbois Catharina Anna Petronella Antonia "Kitty" Courbois (13 July 1937 – 11 March 2017) was a Dutch actress. In 2010 she was awarded the Medal of Merit. Filmography References External links * 1937 births 2017 deaths Dutch actresses ...

* ''Cor Brakel'' — Tim Assen * ''Sophie Visbach'' — Sylvia Poorta * ''Stefana Tromper'' — Chris Nietvelt * ''Sara Boon'' — Lotje van Lunteren * ''Hendrickje Boon'' — Zoë Sterre Greenaway * ''Bart Boon'' — Piet Veenstra * ''Ans Heiden'' — Sytske van der Ster * ''Greet Heiden'' — Femke van der Ster * ''Clara Bosch'' — Lotte Schmidt * ''Lise de Vries'' — Sofieke de Kater * ''Sakky Saskia Boskie'' — Sarah Jonker * ''Johan Leiderdorp'' — Hendrik Aerts * ''Thomas Vrax'' — Kes Blans * ''Frederick Volkers'' — Derk Stenvers * ''Thomas Cotinis'' — Hubert Fermin * ''Evelien Cotinis'' — Lotte Schmidt * ''Hans Blok'' — Iwan Walhain * ''Femke Blok'' — Rikke Rasmussen Mechlenborg * ''Gillis Codde'' —

Jan Rot Jan Rot (25 December 1957 – 22 April 2022) was a Dutch singer-songwriter born in Makassar, who was famous in the Netherlands for his many translations of songs, pop as well as classical ones. His Dutch translation of Bach's ''St Matthew Pas ...

* ''Marie Tilburg'' — Elisa Somsen * ''Lydia Smulders'' — Rikke Rasmussen Mechlenborg * ''Gesina Pardel'' — Lotte Schmidt * ''Ruud Molester'' — Iwan Walhain * ''Jos Houlderkircher'' — Sjaak Hartog * ''Clementina van der Loo'' — Renee van Beek * ''Ensign Gerard van Broeder'' — Lodewijk Gerretsen * ''Douwe van Driel'' — Oscar Wagenmans * ''Crispijn van der Visscher'' — Hendrik Aerts * ''Carol de Graff'' — Frans de Wit * ''Abraham Issacs'' — Laus Steenbeeke * ''Zacharias van Uylenburg'' — Laus Steenbeeke * ''Godfried Trip'' —

Jochum ten Haaf Jochum ten Haaf (17 December 1978) is a Dutch actor, notable for stage, film and television work including '' Charles II: The Power and The Passion'' (2003), '' Bad Girls'' (2003), '' Nightwatching'' (2007), '' Summer Heat'' (2008), '' Castle Amer ...

* ''Aleida (van) Wouters'' — Eva Damen * ''Commodius Hermstede'' — Adrian Brine * ''Osip Barouschka'' — Roger Smeets * ''Jean-Baptiste Becampen'' — Gerard Lemaître * ''Ekke Knolle'' — David de Vriend * ''Herman Geelvinck'' — Jon Marrée

Aerial view

File:SlotAmerongenFilmStill.jpg, Amerongen Castle seen from the air (film still from video by

Rijkswaterstaat Rijkswaterstaat, founded in 1798 as the ''Bureau voor den Waterstaat'' and formerly translated to Directorate General for Public Works and Water Management, is a Directorate-General of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management of the Net ...

) SlotAmerongenFilmStill2.jpg, Amerongen Castle and its surroundings (film still from video by

)

References

External links

Stichting Kasteel Amerongen
website
Trailer: A day in the life of Castle Amerongen - 1680

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

Trailer
{{Authority control Buildings and structures completed in 1672 Historic house museums in the Netherlands Castles in Utrecht (province) Rijksmonuments in Utrecht (province) Utrechtse Heuvelrug Dutch avant-garde and experimental films Films directed by Peter Greenaway 1680 establishments in the Dutch Republic