Eijsden Castle () is a moated

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...

with several farm buildings, a gatehouse and castle park, in

Eijsden-Margraten Eijsden-Margraten (; ) is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality situated in the very south of the Netherlands. There it is located in the southeastern part of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg. ...

Limburg Limburg or Limbourg may refer to: Regions * Limburg (Belgium), a province since 1839 in the Flanders region of Belgium * Limburg (Netherlands), a province since 1839 in the south of the Netherlands * Diocese of Limburg, Roman Catholic Diocese in ...

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. The current

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 ...

was built in 1637 and is located next to the river Maas. The castle is a

rijksmonument A (, ) is a national heritage site of the Netherlands, listed by the agency Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed (RCE) acting for the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. At the end of February 2015, the Netherlands had 61,822 l ...

.
Description at monumentenregister.cultureelerfgoed.nl, official website for Dutch cultural heritage Also other parts of the terrain are separately listed, making a total of 27 rijksmonuments. It is part of the

Top 100 Dutch heritage sites The Top 100 Dutch heritage sites is a list of rijksmonuments in the Netherlands, established in 1990 by the Department for Conservation (Monumentenzorg, today the Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed). The Top 100 was a selection of historical mo ...

, established in 1990 by the Department for Conservation.

Description

The current castle was built in 1636, renovated in 1767, and

restored ''Restored'' is the fourth studio album by American contemporary Christian musician Jeremy Camp. It was released on November 16, 2004, by BEC Recordings. Track listing Standard release Enhanced edition Deluxe gold edition Standard Aus ...

between 1881 and 1886. The castle is made up out of two angled wings with at the outside corner a heavy cornertower flanked by a small stair tower. At the end of the eastwing Athere is another towerlike building containing a gate which grands access to the inner square. On top of this gate is placed the year of completion and the arms of the De Lamargelle and von Bocholtz families. The whole is surrounded by a moat. The castle is built in

Mosan style Mosan art is a regional style of art from the valley of the Meuse in present-day Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany. Although in a broader sense the term applies to art from this region from all periods, it generally refers to Romanesque ar ...

. Next to the castle is a gatebuilding with sidebuilding, built in 1649 when a fire destroyed the earlier buildings. They were restored between 1883 and 1885. The castle park, created around 1900, is freely accessible. It was designed by French garden artist

Achille Duchêne Achille Duchêne (1 November 1866 – 12 November 1947) was a French garden designer who worked in the grand manner established by André Le Nôtre. The son of the landscaper Henri Duchêne, Achille Duchêne was the garden designer most in demand a ...

(1866–1947), replacing an earlier 18th century park. Of this original 18th century park only a small part remains on the northside of the castle, where there is also an 18th-century basement for the storage of ice. The current park has a neo-rococo pond and a group of statues containing three

putti A putto (; plural putti ) is a figure in a work of art depicted as a chubby male child, usually naked and very often winged. Originally limited to profane passions in symbolism,Dempsey, Charles. ''Inventing the Renaissance Putto''. University ...

History and inhabitants

The castle is located on or near the location of a medieval castle, named ''Caestertburg'' or ''Kettelhof''. During the early Middle Ages the court and fertile riverlands were owned by the prince-bishops of Liège. First mention of the castle was in 1334 when ''"den hof tot Esde"'' was granted to Dyederic van Montjoy en Valkenburg by

John III, Duke of Brabant John III (; 1300 – 5 December 1355) was Duke of Brabant, Duke of Lothier, Lothier (1312–1355) and List of rulers of Limburg, Limburg (1312–1347 then 1349–1355), the last Brabant male to rule them. Biography John was the son of John II, ...

. In 1558 Eijsden was owned by Arnold II Huyn van Amstenrade, lord of

Geleen Geleen (; ) is a city in the southern part of the province of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg in the Netherlands. With 31,670 inhabitants in 2020, it is part of the municipality of Sittard-Geleen. Geleen is situated along the river Geleenbeek, a ri ...

, drossaerd of Valkenburg, governor of Brabant owned

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; ; ; ) is a city and a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital city, capital and largest city of the province of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg. Maastricht is loca ...

and captain-general of Limburg and the lands east of the Maas. His daughter Anna married Willem de Lamarzelle, and their son, Arnold de Lamarzelle, build the current castle in 1636–1637. By inheritance the castle was owned successively by the families ''van Hoensbroeck'', ''de Geloes'' and ''de Liedekerke'', who are the current owners of the castle. File:Eijsden-Kasteel Eijsden (67).JPG, Castle entry lane seen from "De Wiette Päölkes" File:Eijsden-Kasteel Eijsden (4).JPG, Gatehouse view from outside File:Eijsden-Kasteel Eijsden (9).JPG, Gatehouse view from inside File:Eijsden-Kasteel Eijsden (52).JPG, Moat and bridge

References

{{coord, 50.7736, N, 5.6997, E, source:wikidata-and-enwiki-cat-tree_region:NL, display=title Rijksmonuments in Limburg Castles in South Limburg (Netherlands) Eijsden-Margraten