Hernen Castle

Hernen Castle is a Dutch castle from the 14th century.

It is a well-preserved medieval castle in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands. It is situated in the village of Hernen (municipality of Wijchen), in the far west of the Rijk van Nijmegen. It probably originated around 1350, and then consisted only of a keep and a curtain wall surrounding a bailey. The bailey was later filled in with other buildings, leaving a relatively small courtyard. The keep collapsed in the 18th century.

The castle has not been permanently inhabited since the 17th century and has never been besieged which is why it is still largely in its medieval state. It is the only castle in the Netherlands with a covered wall walk.

In 1883 the castle was bought by the Den Tex family, who in 1874 had ascended into nobility, as a hunting lodge. In April 1940 Baroness Metelerkamp-den Tex, Lady of Hernen, donated the castle to the Friends of the Geldersche Kasteelen Foundation, which was set up especially for this purpose. A part of the castle is open to the public; another part is occupied by the A.A. Bredius Foundation.

In 1968, the television series Floris, featuring Rutger Hauer in the leading role, was partially recorded at this castle.

Text adapted from “Hernen Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Hernen Castle ranks #4,917 of 8,133 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #56 of the 201 mapped in Netherlands. Founded c. 1350, it is older than 57% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 604 atlas entries founded in the 14th century. 10 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Arnhem, 23 km away. See how Netherlands compares in the castle statistics.

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Read the full history on Wikipedia ↗