The bloody history of Castle Brederode The name Brederode is from the forest nearby that is named “Brede Roede”. This castle is build around 1300 to protect the interests of the lord of Brederode and it was needed because during the … Read More

Castle on a hill. Castle Valkenburg is the only castle in the Netherlands build on a hill. The Netherlands is mostly a flat country, but in Limburg you have some hills. Around 1075 the first castle was built on this … Read More

Valkenburg medieval city. For more than 130 years Valkenburg has been a tourist hotspot. On the hill there is a nice castle, but the city of Valkenburg has also some beautiful parts. Valkenburg was a city with city walls and some parts of the walls are restored. So if … Read More

Twickel. Sometime in the 14th century House Twickel was transformed into a Medieval castle, also called Twickel. In the 18th century the old castle was turned into a manor house. However, the owners kept the name “Castle Twickel”. Also on … Read More

Waterpoort. In Medieval Times the Frisian city of Sneek had 4 more water gates and 2 gates accessible by roads. A water gate gave traders a way to access the city from the water, yet the city could be closed … Read More

History of Groenlo. Around 610 Groenlo’s first buildings were built. More than 600 year later, in 1277, Groenlo received his city rights. In 1334 it finally got walls to defense itself. However, no major battles were fought there during medieval times. … Read More

 Castle of Vorden. The first written account of this castle was in 1315. The current building was built on the old ruins of this castle. During the 80-years-war (or war of independence) between Spain and the Netherlands this castle was … Read More

I was born in Groenlo and grew up in this area. I always thought this basilique in the center of Groenlo was a really old church. However, during the making of this album I found out it is only little … Read More

Close to Utrecht Centraal Railway Station you can find a courtyard that used to belong to an 11th century Church dedicated to Maria. The Church is no longer there, but you can still visit the cloister and the houses that … Read More

Ganzenmarkt. Every medieval city has a lot of small market squares that only traded in one product. Groenlo has a few left of them and one of them is the Ganzenmarkt or Geese Market. On this square geese were traded. … Read More

Sint Jan. In 1220 they built a parish church dedicated to Sint Jan (‘Saint John’), and subsequently transformed it into a collegiate church in 1366. Finally, in 1559, it turned into a Cathedral after a fire. This Cathedral church is … Read More

Marl quarry. In the Middle Ages a cheap way to get building stones was getting them out of a marl quarry. Marl is a soft type of stone, that can be cut out with a big saw. In one day, … Read More