The Ylostins (or ''Ilostins'') was a Frisian castle or a so-called

stins A stins (Dutch, pl. ''stinsen''; from West Frisian ''stienhûs'' utch ''steenhuis''"stone house", shortened to ''stins'', pl. ''stinzen'') is a former stronghold or villa in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands. Many stinsen carry the name ...

in the city of

IJlst IJlst (; ) is a city in Friesland, Netherlands. It is located about 3 km southwest of Sneek. It lies within the municipality of Súdwest-Fryslân and had a population of approximately 3,140 in January 2017. History It received city right ...

Friesland Friesland ( ; ; official ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia (), named after the Frisians, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen (p ...

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 ...

History

It is not clear whether the city of IJlst gave its name to the Ylostins, or whether it was the other way around. The Harinxma thoe IJlst family founded the Ylostins in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, probably around 1400. After the family, the castle was also called Harinxmastins. The Ylostins was on the south side of the city. Together with the church on the north side, it formed a defensible complex. The owner of the Ylostins was also the “eeheer or olderman” of IJlst. After the last Harinxma's passed away, the Ylostins came into the hands of local noble families such as Galama and Vegelin van Claerbergen, through inheritance and purchase and sale. The Ylostins was a so-called ''tower house'' () like the still existing Skierstins. It consisted of a detached residential tower with

bartizan A bartizan (an alteration of ''bratticing''), also called a guerite, ''garita'', or ''échauguette'', or spelled bartisan, is an overhanging turret projecting from the walls of late-medieval and early-modern fortifications from the early 14th c ...

s at the top, with an U-shaped residential building next to it. The tower was additionally crowned with a hipped roof with decorative weather vanes. Small arched windows were installed in the walls. There also seem to have been painted windows, probably by the couple Tiete and Bernardina van Galama. If this is correct, then these windows may have been made by Julius van Galama, who married in IJlst in 1670. In terms of shape, the stins had great similarities with the Gruytermastins in

Sneek Sneek (; ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city southwest of Leeuwarden and the seat of the former municipality of Sneek in the province of Friesland, Netherlands. As of 2011 it is the seat of the municipality of Súdw ...

. Around 1710 the Ylostins still existed, but it was in a poor state of repair. After much deliberation, the owner, squire Hessel Vegelin van Claerbergen from Joure, decided to demolish the large tower in March 1711. The seven-metre-long beams were sold to farmers in the area. The state

archives An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials, in any medium, or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or organ ...

Leeuwarden Leeuwarden (; ; ; ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in Friesland, Netherlands, with a population of 127,073 (2023). It is the provincial capital and seat of the Provin ...

( Tresoar) still keep some documents relating to this, including a map of the Ylostins and its immediate surroundings. The map shows the tower, the big house and other structures, surrounded by tall elm trees. The last remains of the Ylostins were demolished in 1778. In the 1960s there were excavations (led by Herre Halbertsma) at the place where the Ylostins were suspected. However, the demolition was thorough and nothing has been found of the foundations. They found only soft ground with no debris. The residential center for the elderly in IJlst is named after the castle: 'Nij Ylostins'.

References

Literature

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External links

{{cite web, url=http://www.stinseninfriesland.nl/IlostinsIJlst.htm , title=Ilostins te IJlst , website=Stinsen in Friesland, access-date=28 February 2023 Stins in Friesland Súdwest-Fryslân Demolished buildings and structures in the Netherlands Buildings and structures demolished in 1711