Doornenburg Castle (Holland)
Gelderland See list of castles in Olanda
The Doronburc is already mentioned in the 9th century. In 1295 a lord of the Doornenburg is mentioned for the first time, Willem van Doornick.
At that time, according to tradition, Gijsbrecht van Amstel, complicit in the murder of Count Floris V in Holland in 1296, sought refuge from Amsterdam on the Doornenburg. Perhaps the story is questionable and was probably constructed in the 16th century when the Van Amstel family inherited the castle.
As far as is known, the castle was never taken by siege. During the Dutch Revolt (80-year war of 1568-1648), the gentleman followed faithfully and without a fight the change of party of the Gelderland States.
The Doornenburg has been inhabited by the successive families Van Doornick, Van Bylandt, Van Homoet, Van Voorst, Van Amstel, Van Heemskerk and Van Bemmel. The last resident was Maria Clara von Delwig, Baroness of Bemmel. She died in 1847 at a very old age. However, the castle had already become the property of the Van der Heijden family from 1800 through the inheritance of her husband who died in 1799. However, they never lived in the castle, so the building fell into serious disrepair. In 1936 textile industrialist J.H. van Heek from Enschede founded the Foundation for the Preservation of the Doornenburg, became its chairman of the board and, on the same day, bought the castle De Doornenburg from baron A.E.C.C. Van der Heijden. In 1937 the foundation started on the restoration which was completed in 1941.
Van Heek did not experience much pleasure from the restoration. In the last six months of the Second World War, the Betuwe was on the front line; the castle served as the headquarters of the Germans. In January and March 1945 the British Air Force bombed the castle. In the first air raid, several buildings of the outer bailey were destroyed. The second attack was disastrous for the castle. A big mess was left. Doornenburg Castle is part of the Liberation Route Europe. The following fragment can be heard at the listening point, which gives a picture of these frightened days during the war.
After the war, Van Heek started all over again. With the help of the government and various private individuals, the De Doornenburg foundation has gradually been completely restored (1947-1966). Then the robust castle was back in its full glory. A great convenience with this rebuilding was that the foundation had access to the experiences it had gained during the first restoration. In addition, many builders were present at both the first and the second restoration job.