Plans for opening Slangenburg Castle

Starting this spring, Kasteel Slangenburg will open its doors to the public for the first time in its history. We are happy to share what has been done and what is planned in the coming months.

In 2023, Monumentenbezit has been working on plans to open Kasteel Slangenburg. The necessary construction and restoration work is expected to take several years. Nevertheless, the castle will open to the public as early as this year!

The monument is beautifully situated in the green landscape of Doetinchem. Since 2016, the monument has been owned by Monumentenbezit. Last year it was decided not to rent out the castle exclusively again - but rather to keep it in their own hands and open its doors to the public. Managing director Mark van den Bos talks about the plans.

What has already been done?

"We started talking to all kinds of parties last year to explore how best to shape this. From all these conversations, the great desire emerged that this special top-100 monument can be seen and experienced by everyone. This also applies to Slangenburg's collection. In the fall of 2023, we took over the contents of the main house. What belongs to the castle stays with the castle. For managing the collection and opening up the castle, we will adopt the National Trust's Manual of Housekeeping."

In order to open up the building, restoration needs were also researched last year. The need for restoration proved to be great. Professional conservators have begun a study to see what is needed to restore the unique paintings. "We hope to know more about that soon. Either way, it cannot be restored in one fell swoop. There are simply too many of them for that," Mark says. "We're going to set a time frame of about 10 years for that."

What will happen next?

"All investigations lead to a concrete plan of action for the entire castle grounds. We choose to give the castle a cultural destination and say goodbye to the accommodation function in the castle. Visitors will soon have the opportunity to discover the castle's stories for themselves. The coach houses will retain their function, that of catering and accommodation. At the same time, we are taking the opportunity to invest heavily in making the castle and the coach houses more sustainable. This will take some time, but the public will not have to wait. You can simply go back inside starting this spring!

We are working with local parties to see what programming will look like. This could include guided tours. There is already an awful lot to see and discover inside." For example, inside the castle you will find seventeenth-century paintings by artist Gerard Hoet. He applied much of the symbolic wall and ceiling paintings based on Classical Antiquity. The dining room, for example, features scenes from Aeneas and Dido by the Roman writer Virgil.

What can you do right now?

Starting in March, you can visit our carriage houses. Starting March 2, the hospitality industry will open its doors to walkers and other passersby on weekends. We will then expand that to other days during the week. It is also possible to stay overnight in one of the cozy carriage houses. For more information visit www.kasteelslangenburg.nl

Starting in the spring, you will be able to take guided tours of the castle. For that, keep an eye on the website for updates. In addition, there are again opportunities to celebrate family parties and weddings at Slangenburg.

Curious about all the possibilities or interested in giving guided tours at Slangenburg yourself? Please contact us at slangenburg@monumentenbezit.nl