Description

The season opening is intended for members of the Gelderland region with partners and (grand) children

Slot Loevestein is still just in Gelderland

Loevestein is a castle and fortress just northwest of the village of Poederoijen is located in the floodplains of the Waal and Afgedamde Maas.

Knight Dirc Loef van Horne ordered the construction of the castle around 1357. He used it as a residence from which he could hold raids and collect illegal tolls. After him, the castle passed into the hands of the lord of Holland and was used as a defensive structure. At the beginning of the Eighty Years' War, when the castle was occupied by Spaniards, it was taken by the Beggars' leader Herman de Ruyter at the behest of William of Orange. The Spaniards recaptured it once more, but after that it remained State property. Until after the Belgian Revolution, the castle served as a state prison, its most famous prisoner being Hugo de Groot, who managed to escape in a book chest after two years. In State hands, it received modern defences and, as a fortress, became part of the Old and later New Dutch Waterline. Its military function was abolished in 1951.

Location

Loevestein Castle

Loevestein 1, 5307 TG Poederoijen

Organiser

Region Gelderland

Name and contact details for information

Gerard Thomas

gerard.thomas@hetnet.nl