Hoensbroek Castle has been voted the most beautiful castle in the Netherlands by the ANWB. The Limburg castle was chosen by a jury from a top five of castles.
The other castles in the top five were: De Haar Castle (Utrecht), Westhove Castle (Zeeland), Doorwerth Castle (Gelderland) and Huis Bergh Castle (Gelderland).
Authentic
The Limburg castle scores particularly high in the area of ’authenticity’. “The castle was never destroyed by fire or acts of war, so almost everything is authentic. As a result, the outside of the castle reads like a building history book,” the jury said. “You can visit all floors of the keep with three meters thick walls.”
The jury also praised the way in which the history of Hoensbroek Castle is kept alive for visitors of all ages.
Castles
There are more than 550 castles in the Netherlands. For this election, the ANWB, together with the Dutch Castle Foundation and the Cultural Heritage Agency, selected fifty castles that met a number of basic criteria. They had to be of medieval origin, declared a national monument and open for visitors. In addition, a number of external features were important, such as a (partially) visible moat, drawbridge, towers and fortified walls.
Five Limburg castles made it to this shortlist with the fifty most beautiful castles: Aldenghoor Castle (Haelen), Valkenburg Castle, Keverberg Castle (Kessel), Limbricht Castle and Hoensbroek Castle.
Top five
The top five was determined by voters, after which a three-member jury visited the favorites unannounced and individually. The winner was chosen on the basis of a long list of criteria.
The jury consisted of: Marieke Haafkens (ANWB Eropuit), Jaap Evert Abrahamse (architectural historian and researcher at the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands) and Robert Quarles van Ufford (Dutch Castle Foundation).