The Doornenburg Castle ( nl, Kasteel Doornenburg) is a Dutch castle from the 13th century. The castle is located in the eastern part of the province of

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 ...

, near the village of

Doornenburg Doornenburg is a village to the south east of Angeren in the municipality of Lingewaard, Gelderland, the Netherlands. Doornenburg Castle is located near the village. History The village was first mentioned in the 9th century as Doronburc, and m ...

. It is one of the biggest and most well-preserved castles in the Netherlands. It consists of the main castle and a front castle which are connected via a small wooden bridge. The castle was originally a fortified manor built in the 9th century. At this stage, it was known as the ''Villa Dorenburc''. It wasn't until the 13th century that it was converted into a proper castle. Gradually, through the centuries, the castle was expanded further into its current form. The front castle was built in the 15th century. It contains sleeping quarters, a

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

and a

farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used ...

, the latter being quite a unique feature for a Dutch castle. Castle Doornenburg was occupied until the 18th century. After that it fell into disrepair and became a ruin. In 1943 the ''Stichting tot Behoud van den Doornenburg'' (literally: ''Foundation for Preservation of the Doornenburg'') was created and the castle was restored between 1937 and 1941. Unfortunately, by the end of the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

it was almost completely destroyed. The Germans were thought to have blown it up, but it had actually been hit by a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

bombardment in March 1945. The castle was completely rebuilt between 1947 and 1968. In 1968 this castle, amongust others, was used as a set for the television series ''Floris''. Image:Doornenburg.jpg, Old print Image:Kasteel Doornenburg (133).JPG, Chapel Image:Kasteel Doornenburg (100).JPG, Main gate Image:Doornenburg-kasteel.jpg, Castle wall Image:Kasteel Doornenburg (48).JPG, Castle wall Image:Doornenburg-2007-1.jpg, Castle courtyard

External links

{{Commons category
Doornenburg Castle
(official website) Historic house museums in the Netherlands Castles in Gelderland Water castles Museums in Gelderland Rijksmonuments in Gelderland Lingewaard

See also

External links