Loevestein Castle ( nl, Slot Loevestein) is a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

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 ...

in the municipality of

Zaltbommel Zaltbommel (), also known, historically and colloquially, as Bommel, is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands. History The city of Zaltbommel The town of Zaltbommel was first mentioned as "Bomela" in the year 850. Zaltbommel received ...

Gelderland Gelderland (), also known as Guelders () in English, is a province of the Netherlands, occupying the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Netherlands by land area, and second by ...

, 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 ...

. The castle was built by the

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

Dirk Loef of Horne Dirk Loef of Horne was a medieval nobleman. Family Dirk Loef van Horne was born in 1338 or 1339. He was the second son of Willem IV of Horne's marriage to Elisabeth of Kleve-Hülchrath, which was his second marriage. This made Dirk Loef's chan ...

(hence "Loef's stein" (stone) house) between 1357 and 1397. Until

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Loevestein Castle was part of the

Hollandic Water Line The Dutch Waterline ( nl, Hollandsche Waterlinie, modern spelling: ''Hollandse Waterlinie'') was a series of water-based defences conceived by Maurice of Nassau in the early 17th century, and realised by his half brother Frederick Henry. Combine ...

, the main Dutch defense line that was based on flooding an area of land south and east of the western provinces. Currently the castle is used as a medieval museum and function centre.

History

Loevestein is a water castle that was built between 1357 and 1368. It was built in a strategic location in the middle of the

, where the Maas and

Waal WAAL (99.1 FM "The Whale") is a commercial radio station licensed to Binghamton, New York. It airs a classic rock radio format and is owned by Townsquare Media. WAAL is the oldest FM radio station in the Binghamton metropolitan area. It is an ...

rivers come together (just west of current day villages of

Poederoijen Poederoijen is a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is a part of the municipality of Zaltbommel, and lies about 9 km southeast of Gorinchem. Poederoijen was a separate municipality until 1955, when it was merged with Brakel. Loe ...

and Brakel, in the municipality of

, in

). At first it was a simple square brick building, used to charge

toll Toll may refer to: Transportation * Toll (fee) a fee charged for the use of a road or waterway ** Road pricing, the modern practice of charging for road use ** Road toll (historic), the historic practice of charging for road use ** Shadow toll, ...

from trading vessels using the rivers. By 1372, the castle was under control of the

Counts of Holland The counts of Holland ruled over the County of Holland in the Low Countries between the 10th and the 16th century. House of Holland The first count of Holland, Dirk I, was the son or foster-son of Gerolf, Count in Frisia (Dijkstra suggests th ...

. In the 16th century (around 1575, orders given by

William the Silent William the Silent (24 April 153310 July 1584), also known as William the Taciturn (translated from nl, Willem de Zwijger), or, more commonly in the Netherlands, William of Orange ( nl, Willem van Oranje), was the main leader of the Dutch Re ...

) it was expanded to a larger fortress surrounded by earthen fortifications with two (later three) stone

bastion A bastion or bulwark is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fi ...

s on the northern side, two

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...

s, an arsenal, and housing for a commander and soldiers. The Castle was also part of the Hollandic Water Line. It changed hands twice between the Northern Dutch and the Spanish during the

Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Refo ...

: on December 9, 1570, it was taken by the Geuzen; ten days later by the Spanish again; and on June 25, 1572, it was retaken by the Dutch. From 1619 the castle became a

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

for

political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although n ...

s. One famous inmate was the eminent lawyer, poet and politician Hugo de Groot ( Hugo Grotius) often presented as the "father of modern international law", who was serving a controversially imposed life sentence from 1619. In 1621, his wife Maria van Reigersberch, who was also staying at the castle, hid with him in a book chest that was regularly brought for them. He subsequently became the Swedish Ambassador to France for 10 years. Another high-profile inmate was the English Vice-Admiral

George Ayscue Admiral Sir George Ayscue (c. 1616 – 5 April 1672) was an English naval officer who served in the English Civil War and the Anglo-Dutch Wars who rose to the rank of Admiral of the White. He also served as Governor of Scilly Isles (1647) and G ...

In literature

In Alexandre Dumas, père's novel La Tulipe Noire, the main character Cornelius Van Baerle is imprisoned at Loevestein.

Gallery

File:Loevenstein kruittoren.jpg, Gunpowder tower at castle Loevestein.

References

Works cited

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External links