Strijen Castle
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| Strijen Castle | |
|---|---|
Kasteel Strijen | |
| Strijen | |
 Western façade of the tower fragment | |
| Site information | |
| Open to the public | No |
| Location | |
  Strijen Castle The Netherlands | |
| Coordinates | 51°39′18″N 4°51′31″E / 51.655001°N 4.858709°E |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1289 |
Strijen Castle in Oosterhout was a major medieval castle in North-Brabant, Netherlands. The only visible remains consist of a fragment of the very high tower.
Construction of Strijen Castle started in 1289. It was built by Willem van Strijen, a Holland nobleman from Strijen in the Hoeksche Waard. He bought the area near the Oosterhoutse Broek and built the first castle.[1] When he died the lords of Putten en Strijen acquired the castle via his daughter.[2]
In 1324 Willem van Duvenvoorde acquired the castle from Beatrijs van Putten en Strijen. Van Duvenvoorde was a very rich man and was powerful at the courts of Holland, Hainaut, and Brabant. He greatly expanded the castle. He was succeeded by his bastard son Willem van Oosterhout. The lords of Nassau succeeded to the castle after the Van Oosterhout family had died out. In the mid 16th century they had a castellan living on the castle.[2]
During the Eighty Years' War Strijen Castle would be severely damaged. In 1572 the loyalist castellan Leonard van Boischot occupied the castle against the Geuzen. In 1573, the rebels conquered it. In 1573, the castle was besieged by loyalist troops, but in spite of having cannon, this siege failed, and by 1577 there were still rebel troops in the castle.[3] It is very likely that the castle was damaged so severely that a decision was made not to repair it.[3]
In 1617 the lords of Strijen allowed the castle to be used as a quarry for brick.[3] This could easily be transported via the Oosterhout inland harbor.[2] In 1753, gunpowder was used to aid in removing brick from the castle. It was likely that this was also the year that the huge tower (the keep) was blown up, but about a third remained standing.[4] In 1885 a restoration of what remained of the tower started.[4] From about 1888 new bricks were made to conserve the ruins.[2]
