Ruïne van Brederode
The Ruins of Brederode were once the castle of the powerful lords of Brederode. The castle has been a ruin since 1573 and disappeared for centuries under the drifting sand of the Kennemer dunes. It was excavated again in the 19th century and restored by order of the State. Nowadays, the ruins form a beautiful setting for events such as weddings, concerts and knight tournaments.
Location
Santpoort-Zuid
Construction period
13th century
Client
Presumably William I of Brederode
Past function
Residential tower
Special feature
One of the Netherlands' first national monuments
Owned by Monumentenbezit
Since 2016
Wheelchair accessible
No
Visitor information
The Ruins of Brederode are open to visitors from April to October. Guided tours and fun activities are also organised.
Visiting address:
Velserenderlaan 2, 2082 LA Santpoort-Zuid
Early in the 13th century, Count Willem I of Holland gave Dirk Drossaat the northernmost part of the Haarlemmerhout as a fief. Dirk was a descendant of the lords of Teylingen and was probably related to the counts of Holland. The count of Holland gave Dirk permission to build a fortified house on the piece of land. He became the first lord of Brederode and is therefore seen as the founder of the Brederode family .
The son of Dirk Drossaat, Willem I van Brederode, founded a residential tower in this area in the 13th century. It did not stand there for long, because at the beginning of the 14th century his son – Dirk II van Brederode – had the residential tower demolished and a square castle built. The castle was situated in a strategic location, namely on an old beach ridge between dunes and peat area, on an important north-south route.
That castle also did not stand here for long. In 1351, the castle was destroyed during the Hook and Cod Wars. A few years later, Dirk III van Brederode built a new castle on the same spot. This castle was also square, had four corner towers and a gate tower. In this luxurious residence, defensibility was no longer the primary function. Unfortunately, in 1426, this castle was besieged and partly destroyed by the Haarlem Cods.
In 1464, the castle was partly made habitable again. The widow of Reinoud II of Brederode, Yolande van Lailang, lived in the castle until it was destroyed by German mercenaries in 1492. In 1573, the castle fell further into ruin after plundering and arson by Spanish soldiers. Part of it remained habitable for some time, but fell into ruin after 1600. The remains of Brederode Castle largely disappeared under the advancing dune sand in the centuries that followed.
The Brederodes played a prominent role in national politics. They were vassals of the Count of Holland and were obliged to always grant permission to the Count and his army to station themselves at the castle and to provide them with all amenities. They were also obliged to support the Count during his military campaigns. During the Hoekse and Kabeljauwse wars (1350-1490) the Brederodes were important advocates of the Hoekse party.
An important source on the history of the Brederode family was commissioned by Yolanda van Lailang (ca. 1422-1497). She commissioned Jan van Leiden to write a chronicle on the merits of the Brederode family. Yolande van Lailang married Reinoud II van Brederode in 1445. When he died in 1473, Van Lailang stood up for the interests of the Brederode family. She governed the lordship of Brederode as guardian of her minor son, Walraven II van Brederode (born in 1462). Van Lailang continued to live at Brederode Castle her entire life. She was the last noble resident; after her death the castle was only inhabited by staff.
The Brederodes continued to play an important role in Dutch history in the centuries that followed. During the first years of the Dutch Revolt, Hendrik II and his half-brother Lancelot played an important role. They were both (water) beggars. The 16th lord of Brederode, Johan Wolfert, was also an important figure in the army. In the 17th century, he was commander of the Dutch army. He was the brother-in-law of stadtholder Frederik Hendrik van Oranje. The youngest son of Johan Wolfert van Brederode, Wolfert, died in 1679 at the age of 29 and was thus the last lord of Brederode. The castle had already fallen into ruin by then.
The Ruins of Brederode came into the hands of the States of Holland after the death of Wolfert van Brederode in 1679. The dilapidated castle was a popular subject for painters and draughtsmen, who went to the ruins with pen and brush. But remains were found under the dune sand. It was not until the 19th century that the Ruins of Brederode became the focus of attention again. AJ Enschedé, archivist of Haarlem, managed to obtain an initial sum of 500 guilders from the State in 1862 for the restoration of the Ruins of Brederode. The remains of the castle formed one of the first national monuments in the Netherlands.
The restoration and consolidation work ultimately took 40 years. Large parts of the complex were hidden under rubble and sand, on which trees had grown in the meantime. The spiral staircases next to the inner gate were repaired and the middle tower and the keep were tackled. The front gate was in a deplorable state. An ash tree had grown on top of the gate passage, which threatened the vault, so that the vault had to be reconstructed. The sand and rubble had to be cleared away and the foundation of the main building at the inner gate had to be repaired.
The ruin was reconstructed in the 19th century to the ideal image of a medieval castle. However, many of these reconstructions were not in accordance with the still existing, authentic traces of construction. More than 60% of the ruin consists of 19th century reconstructed masonry and not of medieval masonry. The authentic remains that are still visible are of the castle built in 1351 and of the castle rebuilt around 1464.
At the beginning of the 20th century, some structural corrections were carried out. In the third and fourth quarters of the 20th century, restoration and consolidation work followed. A final major maintenance service followed in 2008-2014. Since 2016, the ruins have been in the hands of Monumentenbezit. In 2024, we published a publication about how we have dealt with the preservation of these and other ruins.