Ammersoyen Castle

Ammersoyen Castle (Dutch: Kasteel Ammersoyen) is located in Ammerzoden in the Bommelerwaard region in the province of Gelderland, the Netherlands. When the original construction of the Castle occurred is unclear, some sources claim it was as early as the 12th century. However, the consensus among historians is that the Van Herlaer family completed the Castle in the 1350s. At the time of its construction, the castle was built along a branch of the River Maas. Just a few years after the construction of the castle was completed, the river was rerouted leaving the castle to be surrounded by a moat.

The castle was designed to be a defensive fortress. When it was originally constructed, it had a central courtyard, surrounded by four heavy towers on the corners. Connecting these four towers were four heavy wings, one on each side of the courtyard. Ammersoyen Castle is a good example of the type of castle that was made famous by Count Floris V of Holland. Even though it was originally built on a river, the Van Herlaers believed that all four sides of the castle needed to be fortified. To add to the security, the original design included a moat that ensured any attacker could only invade through the front of the fortress. Except for a brief period in the early 20th century, the castle has always been completely surrounded the moat. The castle was built using a fixed plan, something that was quite uncommon for medieval castles. A fixed plan means that the entire castle was built as a whole, as opposed to multiple phases, which was often the case with other medieval castles.

The earliest mention of Ammerzoden, or Ambersoi as it was once known, was in the 11th century. Given that the village was built on a river with very arable lands, it was most likely just a small farming community with little importance until the creation of the Castle in the 14th century. Today, the village is home to approximately 4000 people, and since 1999 has been part of the municipality of Maasdriel. Prior to 1999, Ammerzoden was its own municipality.

Dirk Van Herlaer, of the Van Herlaer family, built the Castle in the 1350s. Upon Dirk’s death in 1354, the Castle was passed onto his eldest son, Gerhard. Over the next 30 years the Castle passed hands numerous times within the family. When Gerhard died, the Castle was passed onto his brother, Arent. Gerhard had no children to claim the Castle as part of their inheritance, which is the reason it was passed to his brother. When Arent died in 1384, the Castle was given to his son, Arent Hoeman. It is under Arent Hoeman where the Van Herlaer’s lost control of the Castle for good.

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Wikipedia