Castle Duurstede ( nl, Kasteel Duurstede) is a medieval

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

Wijk bij Duurstede Wijk bij Duurstede () is a municipality and a city in the central Netherlands. Population centres *Cothen * Langbroek *Wijk bij Duurstede Topography ''Dutch Topographic map of the municipality of Wijk bij Duurstede, 2013.'' City The city ...

in the province of

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...

in the

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 ...

Origin and development

The castle originated in the 13th century. Around 1270, Zweder I van Zuylen van Abcoude built a freestanding keep on a raised and moated site near the lost city

Dorestad Dorestad (''Dorestat, Duristat'') was an early medieval emporium, located in the southeast of the province of Utrecht in the Netherlands, close to the modern-day town of Wijk bij Duurstede. It flourished during the 8th to early 9th centuries, ...

. Until the beginning of the 15th century Duurstede Castle was in possession by the Van Zuylen van Abcoude family, until they were forced to sell it to the

bishops of Utrecht List of bishops and archbishops of the diocese and archdioceses of Utrecht. Medieval diocese from 695 to 1580 Founders of the Utrecht diocese * * * * * Bishops * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ...

in 1449. Bishop

David of Burgundy David of Burgundy (c. February 142616 April 1494) was Bishop of Utrecht. The illegitimate son of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, David was made bishop of Utrecht by his father in 1456 in an attempt to enforce more centralised Burgundian contr ...

, who reigned from 1459 to 1496, completely rebuilt the castle. The old donjon was enclosed by new buildings. The still intact burgundian tower was also built around this time. His successors Frederick IV of Baden and Philip of Burgundy also used the castle as their residence, and Philip of Burgundy embellished the castle with renaissance features. Philip of Burgundy settled at Duurstede Castle when he became bishop of Utrecht in 1517. He was accompanied by his court painter Mabuse (

Jan Gossaert Jan Gossaert (c. 1478 – 1 October 1532) was a French-speaking painter from the Low Countries also known as Jan Mabuse (the name he adopted from his birthplace, Maubeuge) or Jennyn van Hennegouwe ( Hainaut), as he called himself when he matri ...

), who helped to decorate the new palace of his master. At Philip's death, in 1524, Mabuse designed and erected his tomb in the church of

. After Philip's death,

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, french: Charles Quint, it, Carlo V, nl, Karel V, ca, Carles V, la, Carolus V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (Crown of Castile, Castil ...

confiscated all territorial possessions of the bishopric of Utrecht, including Duurstede Castle.

Later years

In 1580, as a result of the

Dutch Revolt The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) (Historiography of the Eighty Years' War#Name and periodisation, c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and t ...

, the castle fell into the hands of the

States of Utrecht The Provincial Council of Utrecht ( nl, Staten van Utrecht, ) is the provincial council for the Dutch province of Utrecht. It forms the unicameral legislature of the province. Its 47 seats are distributed every four years in provincial elections ...

. The states, however, invested their money into building modern fortification around

, and as a result the castle fell into neglect. Further damage was done when French troops devastated Wijk by Duurstede in 1672, after which the townspeople used stone from the castle to rebuild their homes. In 1852 the town council became owner of the castle and turned the surrounding fortifications into a park. Until 1925 the castle could only be reached by a little ferry.

The Donjon

The old donjon built by Zweder van Abcoude in the 13th century has withstood the passage of time reasonably well, and is an excellent example of medieval towers. The walls are 2.5 metres thick; the original entrance was at the second level and could only be reached with a wooden ladder that could be removed or destroyed in times of need.

The Burgundian Tower

One of the corner towers of the old castle was expanded in the 15th century into its current form. While the rest of the castle had a more residential purpose, the Burgundian tower obviously had a military purpose. It is more than 40 metres high, and has very thick walls.

Film and TV

Castle Duurstede was used in the following films and TV-shows: * Bassie en Adriaan * De Diamant. * Het Monster van Toth in 1999, a

Telekids ''Telekids'' is a Dutch children's television programme showing on the RTL 4 channel from 1989 to 1999 and since 2010 on RTL 8. The show first aired on October 2, 1989, at 6:25pm, after the six o'clock news. Initially only Irene Moors presented ...

film with leading roles for

Carlo Boszhard Carlo Boszhard (born 26 June 1969) is a Dutch TV personality, singer, impersonator, and host. His brother is Ron Boszhard. Early life Carlo was born as the youngest son of the Boszhard family, he is the brother of Ron Boszhard. He spent hi ...

and

Irene Moors Irene Moors (born 18 June 1967, Alkmaar) is a Dutch comedian, TV personality, singer, and host. Career Her career took off in 1989 with RTL 4's '' Telekids'', co-starring Carlo Boszhard, turning them both into TV icons of the Netherlands. In ...

. *the interior shots as Spanish castle for

De Club van Sinterklaas ''De Club van Sinterklaas'' (English literal title: ''The Club of Sinterklaas'', international title: ''St. Nicholas & Friends'') was a Dutch seasonal children's telenovella between 1999 and 2009 based on the legend of Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet. ...

& Paniek in de Confettifabriek (2006). * Lady Death: The Movie

Notes

External links

{{Commons category, Kasteel Duurstede
castles.nl
Buildings and structures completed in 1270 Ruined castles in the Netherlands Castles in Utrecht (province) History of Utrecht (province) Rijksmonuments in Utrecht (province) Wijk bij Duurstede