Brederode Castle — Attraction in Velsen

The Ruin of Brederode refers to the remains of Brederode Castle near Santpoort-South. The castle was founded in the second half of the 13th century by Willem I van Brederode (+- 1215–1285). This descends from the lords of Teylingen, who were related to the counts of Holland. The castle was part of the high lordship of Brederode, with which the lords of Brederode were enfeoffed by the count of Holland in the 13th century. The name Brederode refers to a piece of forest land (Brede Roede) that was cleared, on which the castle is built. At first the castle consisted only of a residential tower. The tower was demolished around 1300, after which Dirk II van Brederode had a square castle built. During the Hoekse and Kabeljauwse quarrels, the Brederodes remained loyal to Margaret of Bavaria, so that the castle was besieged in 1351 by the Cod-minded Gijsbrecht II van Nijenrode. After the surrender, the castle was so badly damaged that it was demolished. After the reconciliation between the Brederodes and the counts in 1354, it was rebuilt again. It was no longer inhabited, but remained a base for the Hoeken, led by Willem van Brederode. Because the Hoeken besieged Haarlem in 1426, the Kabeljauwen destroyed the southern part of the castle. Willem van Brederode was forbidden to "fortify, fasten or fortify" the castle, so that it could not be restored. Finally, the northern part was restored in 1464. During the revolt of the Kaas- en Brood People in 1492, the castle was looted by German soldiers. It has not been inhabited since then. In 1568 it came to the States of Holland. After the loss of the Watergeuzen in the Battle of the Haarlemmermeer, Haarlem had to surrender to the Spanish soldiers in 1573 after the siege of Haarlem. The protestant Lancelot van Brederode was beheaded by them and the castle was looted and set on fire. Subsequently, the ruins fell prey to the advancing shifting sands of the dunes. In 1579 a branch of the Brederodes received the seigniory from Holland again on loan. In 1679 Wolfert van Brederode (1649-1679), the last lord of Brederode, died, leaving the ruins again to the States of Holland and thus to the state of the Netherlands. When the Batavian Republic was formed in 1795, all regional properties were nationalized. Until January 15, 2016, the ruin was therefore owned by the State in the portfolio of the Government Buildings Agency. This monument was transferred to the National Monuments Organization on January 15, 2016. In the 19th century, the ruin was one of the first structures to be restored on behalf of the state. This happened in a rather romantic way. The remains of the Brederode's castle are registered as the first national monument. I have visited the castle twice. The first time I was able to visit and this was an immensely enjoyable experience. The second time the office was closed so that we could not visit properly. This was a disappointment as we had travelled from Amsterdam for nearly two hours on public transport. So we just walked around the castle moat and took...

I really loved when I first visited 2 years ago and even was inspired to learn Nederlands to read the signs as most are not in English but this time wasn't as friendly. I spent hours hand sewing medieval dresses to wear with a friend for a few quick photos for our friendship photo book and selfies for social media as this is her first time ever leaving our country and as student of photography i was hoping two birds one stone a medevial time piece photo for my finals and a memorable image of my travels with my bestfriend but upon entry I was told no "professional" photos unless I paid $140 so I put my camera away and let them hold it to ensure I didnt break their rules which I understood they dont want photographers holding up lines and if they do the property should make its money but I was also told any mobile photos would result in a fee if I posted them to social media? Then they asked us if they could take a photo of us in our dresses? I told them it would be $140🙃 .we were 3 out of5 people on site and felt rushed out. If it were my business I would have offered a discounted student rate under the circumstances but I clearly I don't understand their marketing strategy. Super disappointed by...

Nice place to visit if you're in the area. The ruins are quite small, but you can climb to the very top of one of the towers and have a good view of the surroundings. There are also some small exhibitions in the tower, such as torture devices with explanations. The only issue we had is with paying for entry. On the website it says that you can pay with card, but when we came the machine was broken and they only accepted cash. The staff could not give us an alternative and could not tell us where we could find the nearest ATM. They were also unfriendly and dismissive, which really dampened our mood. So bring cash...