Jaap van 't Veen's photos with the keyword: castles

The castle is dating back to the 13th century; the fortified tower is the only part of the original building which survived a severe fire in 1525. The castle was rebuilt in its current form in the early 17th century and much later (1973 and 1981) restored. It is now owned by ‘Vereniging Natuurmonumenten’ - a Dutch society for preservation of nature monuments. Around the year of 1200 the castle came into the possession of Floris IV, Count of Holland. In 1229 the castle went to the Lords of Zierikzee, through an exchange with Floris IV. The new inhabitants of the castle called themselves ‘Van Haemstede’. The most famous resident was ‘Witte van Haemstede’, an illegitimate son of Count Floris V. In the mid-15th century his descendants got into financial troubles. ‘Louis de Gruuthuse’, a Flemish nobleman from Bruges, became the new owner of Castle Haamstede. Slot Haamstede is situated in the heart of the village of Haamstede on the former island Schouwen-Duiveland. The castle itself is only open for visitors during special events. The castle woods are free accessible.

The history of Hackfort Castle is dating back to the year of 1322, when it was officially mentioned. In 1392 ‘House Hacforden’ was nothing more than just a residential tower. In the 1586 the castle was destroyed by the Spanish troops during the Eighty Year's War (the Dutch Independent War). After the liberation of the region by Prince Maurits van Oranje, the castle was rebuilt in 1598 by Borchard van Westerholt. In 1788, Hackfort Castle underwent substantial renovations. The old gate house and outbuildings were demolished and the canals were filled in. The castle was transformed into an 18th-century manor house. Nowadays only the two thick cylindrical towers are reminders of the (former) castle. The castle remained for centuries in the possession of the family Van Westerholt. When the last Baroness Westerholt of Hackfort died in1981, Hackfort Castle and estate were donated to Natuurmonumenten (Netherlands Natural Heritage Society) and the house, coachhouse (nowadays a restaurant) and watermill have since been restored and opened to the public, although with limited opening hours. The picture is taken from the watermill: www.ipernity.com/doc/294067/26902929/in/album/537909

More than seven centuries ago farmers who lived in the neighbourhood needed to protect their crop and themselves and they built a strong stone house (in the Dutch province of Groningen they were called ‘borg’). They were inspired by local monks who started building their monasteries with bricks. Besides churches, these structures were the only buildings that used durable stone and masonry. In 1475 there was already a farm with the name Frealemaheerd. Times were turbulent and unsafe in this part of the country. The ‘borg’ had to be fortified with a moat and extra walls. About 150 years later the house received its current name ‘Fraeylemaborg’, when it became permanently inhabited by the Fraeylema family. Through the centuries many powerful families have made the Fraeylemaborg their home. One of them, Hendrik de Sandra de Veldtman, bought the estate in 1781 after decades of neglect and decay. He restored and transformed the house to its present form. In 1972 the last private family left the Fraeylemaborg and the estate was bought by a foundation and opened the park to the public and converted the house to a museum. The moated ‘Fraeylemaborg’ is surrounded by a beautiful country estate of over 26 hectares with a fragment of a late 17th century garden and a 19th century landscape park. During spring it offers numerous so called ‘stinsenplanten’, plants which are more or less unique for this kind of manor gardens.

The ‘Calahorra Castle’ (Castillo de La Calahorra) is located on the top of a hill above to the village La Calahorra and the plateau of the Marquesado in the northern foothills of the Sierra Nevada. The first fortification at this site was an imposing medieval fortress of Moorish origin. In 1490 the ‘Catholic Monarchs’ gave the fortress to Cardinal Pedro González de Mendoza in reward for his important role in the Christian conquest of Granada. Don Rodrigo, an illegitimate son of the cardinal, inherited La Calahorra Castle in the year of 1495. This first Marquis of Zenete travelled a lot to Italy and loved the Italian architecture. La Cahorra Castle became the first Italian renaissance castles outside Italy and the first in Andalusia displaying these architectural features. The castle was rebuilt between 1509 and 1512 on the site of the former Moorish fortification. Nowadays the castle can be visited, although its opening hours are quite limited.