Ruïne van Strijen
The Ruins of Strijen are a remnant of the 13th-century castle of Strijen. Willem IV van Strijen had the first castle built. At the beginning of the 14th century, the next owner - Willem van Duvenvoorde, at the time one of the most powerful and richest men in the Low Countries - converted the castle into his main residence. Strijen Castle had three floors. The tower, of which part still remains, even had six. The castle flourished during the 14th century. But after the destruction during the Eighty Years' War in 1573, the building was never fully restored. A fence now surrounds the ruins for safety reasons, but you can still take a nice walk in the nature reserve and view the impressive remains.
Location
Oosterhout
Year built
Late thirteenth century
Original function
Residential house
Client
Willem van Strijen
Special feature
The 26-meter-high castle tower
Owned by Monumentenbezit
Since 2016
Wheelchair accessible
No
Visitor information
Access to the castle ruins is limited due to insecurity.
Visiting address:
Kasteeldreef 32, 4907 EA Oosterhout
The construction of the first castle started around 1288, when Willem IV van Strijen bought the terrain. The castle was built on a strategic location, namely right on the border of the Duchy of Brabant with the County of Holland. Originally, the terrain contained a built-up main castle with outer bailey and a single moat.
In 1321, the next owner Willem van Duvenvoorde leased the castle from the lord and lady of Putten and Strijen. He made Strijen his main residence. This was accompanied by a large-scale renovation. Among other things, a second moat was constructed, and a number of new buildings were built. The castle had a beer, wine and dairy cellar, a large central hall was built, and there were well-heated living quarters.
After Van Duvenvoorde's death in 1353, the castle passed to his bastard son Willem van Oosterhout. Van Oosterhout lived there with his wife, Heilwich. Van Oosterhout also had no legitimate descendants, which is why Strijen Castle fell into other hands after his death in 1402. The castle in Strijen did not experience many days of glory. As early as 1421, the castle lost its strategic significance when the St. Elizabeth's flood washed away the Groote Waard and turned the area north of Oosterhout into a swamp .
Willem van Duvenvoorde's bastard son, Willem van Oosterhout, inherited the castle after his father's death in 1353. Van Oosterhout was less wealthy than his father, causing the castle to fall into disrepair. After Van Duvenvoorde's death, the castle remained inhabited by Van Oosterhout's descendants. However, when the branch died out, the castle came into the hands of the Nassaus, who carried out restoration and maintenance work. The castle was destroyed by the Spanish in 1573.
In the 18th century the ruined castle was largely demolished. The ruin of the tower is the last remnant. The remains of the castle were used by the Oosterhouters as a quarry for the construction of their own houses.
Willem van Duvenvoorde (ca. 1290-1353) was born as the illegitimate son of Filips van Duvenvoorde and probably Liesbeth van Dongen. Filips was a Dutch nobleman who belonged to the Wassenaar family.
Van Duvenvoorde began his career in 1311 as a squire at the Hague court of William III (ca. 1287-1337), the Count of Holland, Zeeland and Hainaut. He worked his way up to chamberlain and confidant of the Count of Holland. In 1327 Van Duvenvoorde married Heilwich van Vianen. The couple remained childless. However, like his father, Van Duvenvoorde did have illegitimate children.
The power that Van Duvenvoorde eventually acquired, he owes to the enormous fortune that he built up. He immediately reinvested the money that he earned as a squire to Count Willem III and invested the profit in land ownership. He also provided loans at high interest rates of no less than 20% per year. Van Duvenvoorde thus became the largest private landowner in the Low Countries. Willem not only owned a castle in Oosterhout, but also a house in The Hague and Brussels. His property also included the castles of Vianen and Geertruidenberg. The castle in Strijen was the administrative centre. After Van Duvenvoorde became lord of Breda in 1339, he also had the castle of Breda at his disposal. Towards the end of his life he retired to his house near Mechelen. He died on 12 August 1353.
The castle of Strijen was a rectangular water castle of three stories high. The last remnant of the castle is a corner of the main tower. The tower is popularly called the Slotbosse Toren, named after the oak forest that used to surround the tower.
The 26-meter high tower was six stories high and has a basement, but you can still see about 5.5 stories. On the inside of the ruins are visible, among other things, the remains of windows, shooting slits, a vault and a chimney with a flue.
In the 19th century, the ruins of the tower were consolidated, and in 1932 a shallow ditch was dug. The area was redeveloped in 2011, and in 2015 maintenance was carried out on the masonry and anchors of the tower. Since 2016 , the Ruins of Strijen have been in the hands of Monumentenbezit.