Altena Castle (Almkerk)
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Altena Castle is a former castle in
Almkerk Almkerk is a village in the municipality of Altena, North Brabant, Altena, in the Netherlands. It is located about 7 km south of Gorinchem. History The village was first mentioned in 1292 as Almekercke, and means "church on the Alm river". ...
. It was home to the lords of
Altena Altena (; Westphalian language, Westphalian: ''Altenoa'') is a town in the district of Märkischer Kreis, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The town's castle is the origin for the later Dukes of Berg. Altena is situated on the Lenne river valley, i ...
, and often of the lords of Horne and Altena.


Castle Characteristics

All that remains of Altena Castle is its clearly visible motte. Therefore, there can be little doubt that Altena Castle started out as a
motte-and-bailey castle A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy ...
. During excavations a large amount of
tuff Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock co ...
stone was found. This indicates that Altena Castle was built before the procedure to produce brick was reinvented in the Netherlands. This reinvention took place in about 1200. The foundation date is estimated to be around 1150. In time, motte-and-bailey castles were modernized. In 17th century pictures, the remains of the castle are depicted as a polygonal tower on a motte (see Schijnvoet's engraving). This is a somewhat unusual configuration for the Netherlands, where many motte-and-bailey castles were levelled to become circular water castles. Others became
shell keep A shell keep is a style of medieval fortification, best described as a stone structure circling the top of a motte. In English castle morphology, shell keeps are perceived as the successors to motte-and-bailey castles, with the wooden fence arou ...
s by building a circular wall on top of the motte e.g. the Burcht van Leiden. Altena Castle was referred to as 'Tower and Castle', which can have different meanings, but implies that it consisted of two separate buildings. The nearby Heusden castle might give inspiration about Altena's characteristics. Heusden Castle had its first octagonal tower founded on ground level, with the motte constructed around it. This tower was also made of stone, instead of brick.


History


The first lords of Altena

The first known Lord of Altena was Dirk I, who appeared in writing in 1143. A Boudewijn van Altena was mentioned in 1200. He added the Lordship of Kortessem to Altena. Altena Castle was mentioned by
Melis Stoke Melis Stoke ( 1235 – c. 1305) was a Dutch writer who lived in the 13th century. Biography Melis Stoke was probably born in the Dutch province of Zeeland around 1235. He died somewhere around 1305. He started writing in 1290 in Middle Dutch ...
(c. 1235 - 1305). He mentioned that in 1203,
Louis II, Count of Loon Louis II was count of Loon from 1191 to 1218. He was the son of Gerard, Count of Looz, and Adelaide of Gelderland, daughter of Henry I, Count of Guelders, and Agnes of Arnstein, daughter of Louis III of Arnstein. He also claimed to be the legit ...
visited Altena Castle, where he waited for the death of
Dirk VII, Count of Holland Dirk VII (died 4 November 1203, in DordrechtA. W. E. Dek ''Genealogie der graven van Holland'', Zaltbommel : Europese Bibliotheek, 1969., but without further sources; seDirk VII, graaf van Holland(Dutch)) was the count of Holland from 1190 to 12 ...
, before continuing to Dordrecht to marry his daughter
Ada, Countess of Holland Ada ( – 1234/37) was Count of Holland, Countess regnant of County of Holland, Holland between 1203 and 1207, ruling jointly with her husband, Louis II of Loon. She was deposed and exiled by her paternal uncle, William I, Count of Holland, ...
. Altena Castle was first mentioned in a charter in 1230, when its lord Dirk of Altena paid homage to
Floris IV, Count of Holland Floris IV (24 June 1210 – 19 July 1234) was the count of Holland from 1222 to 1234. He was born in The Hague, a son of William I of Holland and his first wife, Adelaide of Guelders. Floris succeeded his father in 1222. His regent was Baldwin ...
for his 'castrum' in Altena. Archaeological evidence (the presence of much tuff) proves that Dirk's forefathers already owned a motte castle at the current location.


The Lords of Horne and Altena

Dirk III of Altena had no legal offspring, his sister Sophia was his heir. Dirk succeeded in making his nephew Willem of Horne his heir and successor in the Lordship of Altena, which was a fief of Kleve. This was an achievement, because it could only be inherited by sons, not by brothers, and certainly not by nephews. This was how Altena Castle came to the Lords of Horne. These succeeded each other without much incident until 1386.


First Siege of Altena Castle (1386)

In 1386 Willem VI of Horne was deposed by Albert of Bavaria regent of Holland, but Willem of Horne resisted. In May 1387 the Count of Holland and his son William of Oostervant then went to Woudrichem with a small army of 500 men. William of Oostervant was next declared Lord of Altena by force. He was then known as William of Oostervant and Horne. At Altena Castle the troops of Willem VI resisted. A siege of the castle was led by lower ranking commanders of the Count of Holland. By 22 May 1387 a truce until mid-August had been concluded. The truce seems to have been of the type that the besieged would surrender if no help arrived before that date, but this is a guess. Soon after, William of Oostervant gained full control of Altena and its castle.


Rule by the Counts of Holland

In 1389 the official ruler William V of Holland, who had been locked since 1358, died. Regent Albert then became Count of Holland. In June 1388 he made Aleid van Poelgeest his official mistress. On the night of 22–23 September 1392 both she and William's chamberlain Willem Cuser, were murdered in The Hague by Hook nobles.


Second Siege of Altena Castle (1393)

When Count Albert started to accuse a group of Hook nobles of the murder, he came into conflict with his son William. William and some of these nobles then left The Hague, and went to Altena Castle. In July 1393 Count Albert started to besiege Altena Castle with a small army. William had left some nobles with supplies in the castle, and went to 's-Hertogenbosch. The besiegers used artillery, and quickly succeeded in severely damaging the castle. On 20 July the castle surrendered on terms, the besieged leaving to 's-Hertogenbosch. Count William then demolished most of the castle, except the two big towers. In 1396 William of Oostervant and his father were reconciled. In 1404 William of Oostervant succeeded his father as Count William VI of Holland.


Return of the Lords of Horne

Count William VI of Holland died on 31 May 1417. He was succeeded by his daughter
Jacqueline, Countess of Hainaut Jacqueline (; ; ; 15 July 1401 – 8 October 1436), of the House of Wittelsbach, was a noblewoman who ruled the counties of Holland, Zeeland and Hainaut in the Low Countries from 1417 to 1433. She was also Dauphine of France for a short time ...
. In order to gain support she granted Altena to Willem VII of Horne. In the subsequent succession war, Willem of Horne held on to Woudrichem. He probably did this to secure his own position. Altena Castle was probably not that relevant anymore, especially after Woudrichem got city walls.


The St. Elizabeth's flood (1421)

The St. Elizabeth's flood of 1421 had a profound effect on the Land of Altena, parts of which were flooded for decades. However the castle itself, and especially the big tower on the motte would not have washed away. Still, it might have suffered from delayed maintenance.


The Counts of Horne

Later in the fifteenth century, Jacob I of Horne became Count of Horne. In 1568 his successor
Philip de Montmorency, Count of Horn Philip de Montmorency (ca. 1524 – 5 June 1568 in Brussels), also known as Count of County of Horn, Horn, ''Horne'', ''Hoorne'' or ''Hoorn'', was a victim of the Inquisition in the Spanish Netherlands. Biography De Montmorency was born as the e ...
was beheaded in Brussel. It marked the start of the
Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish Empire, Spanish government. The Origins of the Eighty Years' War, causes of the w ...
(1568-1648). In 1589 the land of Altena was inundated, which cannot have been good for what was left of the castle. Soon after,
Walburgis van Nieuwenaer Anna Walburgis van Nieuwenaer (1522-1600) was a politically active Dutch countess. She married Philip de Montmorency, Count of Horn in 1543. She was a Protestant and actively supported the Protestant movement in the fief of her spouse. She was aw ...
widow of Philip de Montmorency, sold Altena to the province of Holland. In 1620 a tower was reported to remain of Altena Castle. By 1660 the castle was ruinous. A contemporary description noted that its old decayed walls could still be seen. In the mid 18th century it was claimed that the last of the two ten-sided towers was demolished in 1678 or 1680.


References

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Notes

{{Reflist, 2


External links


Altena Castle at Kastelen in Nederland

Altena Castle and its motte on Brabantserfgoed.nl
Castles in North Brabant Demolished buildings and structures in the Netherlands