Beverweerd Castle

Beverweerd Castle, locally known as Kasteel Beverweerd, lies north of the village of Werkhoven, in the province of Utrecht in the Netherlands.

The castle was built in the first half of the 13th century on a small island in the Kromme Rijn river. It then consisted of a simple tower house of 2 floors. In the second half of the 13th century the 2 square corner towers were added. The oldest known inhabitant of Beverweerd Castle was a Zweder van Zuylen and his wife Hildegardis or Hillegonda van de Velde. The castle was a fief of the Bishop of Utrecht and probably held by the family of Hildegardis. Because when she died in 1296 the castle did not go to Zweder but to a family member of her; Nicolaas van de Velde.

In later centuries Beverweerd Castle went to several families through marriages and inheritances, amongst them the Van Vianen, Van Bouchout and the De Lannoy families. In 1563 Philip William, Prince of Orange, inherited the castle. It stayed in the Orange-Nassau family for the next 200 years. During those times the castle was rebuilt several times, though still keeping much of its medieval character.

In 1782 Beverweerd Castle went to the Van Heeckeren family. Between 1835 and 1862 the castle was rebuilt into a regular Gothic Revival style mansion by the architect C. Kramm for Baron H.J.C.E. van Heeckeren. Then it also received the white plaster on its exterior. This was removed in 1934, only to be applied again in 2010.

In 1958 the castle was sold to a foundation for Quaker schools. It served as a school until 1997 under the name International School Beverweerd. The boarded up outbuildings for housing the students can still be seen in the park next to the castle.

At present Beverweerd Castle is private property. It is now inhabited by the Dutch painter and former art forger Geert Jan Jansen.

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