Henkenshage is a notable building located in the municipality of

Meierijstad Meierijstad () is a municipality in the Dutch province of North Brabant. The municipality is the result of a merger between the municipalities Schijndel, Sint-Oedenrode and Veghel in 2017. After the merger it became North Brabant's largest municip ...

in the

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 ...

. It is a former fortified farmhouse, known in the 14th century as a Strijpe or Streepe. The building, often mistaken for a

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 ...

, is not a real castle but rather a

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 ...

. In 1818, Henkenshage was bought by Dutch diplomat and civil servant Christaan Diederik Emerens Johan Bangeman Huygens, who was

Minister Plenipotentiary An envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, usually known as a minister, was a diplomatic head of mission who was ranked below ambassador. A diplomatic mission headed by an envoy was known as a legation rather than an embassy. Under the ...

of the

Kingdom of the Netherlands The Kingdom of the Netherlands (, ;, , ), commonly known simply as the Netherlands, is a sovereign state consisting of a collection of constituent territories united under the monarch of the Netherlands, who functions as head of state. The re ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

from 1825 to 1832. Born in

Sint-Oedenrode Sint-Oedenrode () is a town in the Dutch province of North Brabant. Sint-Oedenrode is a moderately urbanized town in the Meierij of 's-Hertogenbosch. Sint-Oedenrode had a population of 18,360 as of and has an area of . On 1 January 2017 Sint- ...

, he lived at the mansion for a period and in 1843 it went to his only son, Rutger Bangeman Huygens van Löwendal. The property was bought in 1850 by Peter Jacob Girard de Mielet van Coehoorn and was given its present form as a country stay. During

World War II 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 ...

, Henkenshage was used as a distribution centre, and during the liberation of Holland ( Operation Market Garden) in 1944 it was the headquarters of the US

101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division (military), division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault military operation, operations. The 101st is designed to plan, coordinat ...

. It is now known as Kasteel Henkenshage and is a Wedding and Function Centre.

References

External links

Henkenshage Castle
''castles.nl,'' Retrieved 2024-01-22 Buildings and structures in North Brabant Meierijstad {{Netherlands-struct-stub