Batenburg Castle known locally as Kasteel Batenburg is located in the town of the same name, Batenburg, less than 20 kilometers from the city of Nijmegen, in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands.
As for the origin of batenburg castle there are several theories. The first states that the castle was founded by a warrior prince from Batavia who left his homeland along with many of his warriors to establish his headquarters on this site. Another theory says that on this site a fortification was founded together with a Roman temple dedicated to the god Mars.
Nevertheless, no evidence found that contribute veracity to neither of these two theories.
Most likely, and the most widely held theory, is that In this place there was a stone tower already in the 12th century on which the fortress was later developed.
It is believed that it was around the year 1300 when a member of the Van Bronckhorst-Batenburg family started the construction of batenburg castle.
The original castle of the Van Bronckhorst-Batenburg family was partially destroyed in 1497 by the troops of Albert van Saksen. Subsequently it was restored reinforcing its circular wall with a gatehouse, flanked by two watchtowers, and three additional residential towers.
In 1503 the castle of Batenburg was besieged by Charles of EgmondDuke of Gelderland, and part of the castle defenses were again destroyed. After reconstruction, the fortress was again attacked in 1540 by an expedition from the city of Nijmegen.
A few years later, during a bombardment in 1568 carried out by the troops of Philip of Hohenlohe-Neuenstein, the oldest part of the castle collapsed.
Around 1600 the castle was rebuilt by Maximiliaan van Bronckhorst-Batenburg-Steyn and, under the orders of Count Joan van Hoorn, it was restored and furnished with great splendor.
Around the year 1700 Batenburg Castle passed into the hands of the Counts of Bentheim-Steinfurt and, for that time, the fortress was permanently uninhabited.
In 1795 the sad fate of the castlewhen French invaders set fire to the building. Batenburg Castle completely burned down.
It was never rebuilt and its ruins began a new life as a stone quarry for cheap building materials.
After the Second World War, the castle ruins were confiscated by the state and, in 1953, sold to the “Friends of Gelderland Castles” foundation. From then on the ruins suffered several consolidation processes.
