The Doornenburg Castle () is a Dutch

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

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 Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands, located in the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Nethe ...

, near the village of Doornenburg. 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 (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

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 fo ...

, 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 1936 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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

bombardment in March 1945. The castle was completely rebuilt between 1947 and 1968. In 1968, this castle, amongst 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

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

See also

External links