Egmond Castle

The origins of Egmond Castle is closely connected to Egmond Abbey, which was founded by the counts of Holland in Egmond-Binnen. When the Abbey lands became too large, the abbot decided to appoint a certain Berwout as steward of these estates in 1129. Berwout and his descendants lived in a (fortified) farm or manor ("Hoeve") north of the abbey. As Berwout and his descendants took part in the crusades, they were rewarded with the hereditary lordship over Egmond.

Walter I, Lord of Egmond got involved in the Loon war, a war of succession over the County of Holland (and its dependency Zeeland) from 1203 until 1206, brought on by the death of count Dirk VII. During this war, Louis II, Count of Loon set the fortified manor on fire in 1203. Walter I decided to build a circular stone castle as a replacement. It had a diameter of 27 meters, a strong keep on the south side and a curtain wall. The main purpose was to serve as a place for refuge and defence in times of peril. The main living and residential buildings were in the forecourt. This circular castle existed until the end of the 15th century.

William II, Lord of Egmond constructed a new castle in the forecourt as a replacement for the old circular castle. He divided the forecourt into a western and eastern side. On the eastern side, the main castle was erected with a large tower, the so called donjon. And on the western side the forecourt was erected including two towers. At the same time, the castle chapel (Dutch: slotkapel) was also built.

The second castle was destroyed by the Frisians in 1321. John I, Lord of Egmond erected a new castle as a replacement.

John III of Egmont was the first Count of Egmont as well as an important statesman in the Burgundian Netherlands. He decided to enlarge and decorate the castle: a large hall including paintings of his ancestors, towers and a beautiful gatehouse with turrets on each corner were added, wooden bridges were replaced by stone ones. The main tower, the donjon, was raised to a height of 28 metres. People called the castle the largest and most beautiful one of Holland.

As the Egmond family rose to prominence within the Burgundian Netherlands, they spent more and more time in the south of the Netherlands, e.g. in the Egmont Palace in Brussels, the Egmont castle in Zottegem or the castle in La Hamaide.

Lamoraal I, Count of Egmont and first prince of Gavere was the grandson of John III. He was a leading general and statesman in the Spanish Netherlands during the 16th century. His beheading in Brussels in 1568 sparked the national uprising which led to the independence of the Netherlands.[2] Troops led by Diederik Sonoy set both Egmond castle and the abbey on fire in 1573. The destruction was at the command of the Prince of Orange to prevent the Spanish army from occupying these strategic locations.

Count Lamoraal II, son of Lamoraal I, was the last member of the Egmond family who owned the castle. Due to debts, he was forced to sell the castle and the surrounding estates to the States of Holland and West Friesland in 1607, who remained the owner for the remainder of the 17th century. Gerrit van Egmond van Nijenburg, a scion from a younger (bastard) branch of the Egmond family, decided to buy the ruins in 1722. His son, Jan van Egmond van Nijenburg, restored two towers at the entrance of the castle.

Just like the Ruins of Brederode the ruins of Egmond Castle became a favourite subject of the artists in the Dutch golden age. Painters like Meindert Hobbema and Jacob van Ruisdael or sketchers like Roelant Roghman or Cornelis Pronk depicted the ruins in romantic settings or how they imagined the castle looked like in more glorious times.[3] These paintings are scattered around the world and can be admired in places like the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam or the Art Institute of Chicago.[4]

Ms Jacoba van Foreest, married with Mr Tinne, became proprietors of the ruins in 1798. They are responsible for the disappearance of the ruins, as they sold it for demolition with the exception of the so-called 'rentmeestertoren' or 'clock tower'. However, in the end, they stopped maintenance and tore it down in 1832. Nothing remained of the castle as from 1836 onwards. The loss of the castle ruins started discussions in the Netherlands around heritage awareness and how to treat monuments. As a result, Brederode castle, the other great ruin in Holland, became one of the first national monuments of the Netherlands.

The province of North Holland became the owner of the castle grounds in 1933, nothing more than a swamp. They immediately started to perform archaeological excavations, which lasted until 1936. Both the fundaments of the first circular and the second square castle were discovered, and not only the exterior walls, but also some of the interior walls. Further, they established that the castle did not have cellars. The decision was made to brick up the walls to raise the fundaments above the grounds. These are the ruins we see today, with some small remainder of the clock tower.

Today, the ruins can freely be visited. A statue has been erected in memory of count Lamoraal I of Egmont in 1997, a copy of the statue stands in the 'Egmont city' Zottegem in Flanders. From time to time, there a discussions to restore (parts of the) castle, but none has been realized.