Radboud Castle (Dutch: ''Kasteel Radboud'') is a castle on the east bank of the harbour in

Medemblik Medemblik () is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland and the region of West-Frisia. It lies immediately south of the polder and former municipality of Wieringermeer. History Medemblik was a prosperous ...

. Radboud Castle is one of a number of castles in

North Holland North Holland ( nl, Noord-Holland, ) is a province of the Netherlands in the northwestern part of the country. It is located on the North Sea, north of South Holland and Utrecht, and west of Friesland and Flevoland. In November 2019, it had a ...

. The building was commissioned by Floris V, Count of Holland. When exactly it was built is unknown, but the castle was completed before the

St. Lucia's Flood North Holland, 1st-10th century St. Lucia's flood (Sint-Luciavloed) was a storm tide that affected the Netherlands and Northern Germany on 13/14 December 1287 ( OS), St. Lucia Day and the day after, killing approximately 50,000 to 80,000 peo ...

of 13 December 1287. On 24 June 1517 the castle saved some of the Medemblik townsfolk from the raids of

Grutte Pier Pier Gerlofs Donia ( 1480 – 28 October 1520) was a Frisian rebel leader and pirate. He is best known by his West Frisian nickname ''Grutte Pier'' ("Big Pier"; in the pre-1980 West Frisian spelling written as ''Greate Pier''), or by the Dutch t ...

and his Arumer Zwarte Hoop (a band of marauding pirates). On 12 August 1588 the castle surrendered to Diederik Sonoy and the

Geuzen Geuzen (; ; french: Les Gueux) was a name assumed by the confederacy of Calvinist Dutch nobles, who from 1566 opposed Spanish rule in the Netherlands. The most successful group of them operated at sea, and so were called Watergeuzen (; ; frenc ...

. The defensive function of the castle was reduced with the building of walls around the city of

in 1572 and due to both dismantling and lack of maintenance there was attrition of the castle buildings.

Restoration

In 1889 the control of the property was returned to the state. Restorations were done by the State architect J. van Lokhorst with advice from R.J.H. Cuypers and the castle was used for the district court of justice until 1934. In 1931 a cannery near the castle burnt down exposing the foundations of a tower on the north west of the site and during 1936 the castle-moat was restored. From 1964 to 1965 further restorations were done with a more historical and architectural correctness and some of the previous renovations were removed.

Recent history

On 4 September 1939 ''

The Night Watch ''Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq'', also known as ''The Shooting Company of Frans Banning Cocq and Willem van Ruytenburch'', but commonly referred to as ''The Night Watch'' ( nl, De Nachtwacht), i ...

'' by

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consid ...

was stored here temporarily before being moved in May 1940 to a bunker in the dunes near

Castricum Castricum () is a municipality and a town in the province of North Holland in the Netherlands. Castricum is a seaside town in the province of North Holland. It draws in a fair share of tourists who mainly come to visit the beach and nearby dune ...

. Medemblik wognum 039.JPG Medemblik- Trap kasteelen.JPG Kasteel Radboud 2010 Nr. 2 SteDi.jpg

References

External links

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Dwangburchten van West-Friesland en Alkmaar

{dead link, date=April 2018 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes Castles in North Holland Rijksmonuments in North Holland Medemblik Hook and Cod wars