Croy Castle

Croy Castle, locally known as Kasteel Croy, lies south of the village of Aarle-Rixtel, in the province of North Brabant in the Netherlands.

Croy Castle was first mentioned in 1472 when it was owned by a Rutger van Erp. Then it probably consisted of a simple fortified house with a tower. In 1477 he sold his lands and 'castle' to Jacob de Croy, son of the Count of Chimay.

In 1494 it was again sold, this time by Jacob to a Cornelis I van Bergen. It was probably Cornelis who gave the castle its present appearance and who built the gate building. In the following centuries Croy Castle was owned by several noble families.

In 1772 Croy Castle was acquired by the Van der Brugghen family. In 1809 they received the King of Holland, the French Louis Bonaparte, as a guest at their castle. In 1873 the last private owner of the castle; Lady Constance van der Brugghen, died. In her will, she stipulated that the castle should be used to house elderly locals. This was carried out in 1873 when a Catholic congregation opened up a residence for the elderly in the castle. The residence was in operation until 1977 when it had to close due to safety regulations.

In 1990 the castle was restored and is since then used as an office building.

At present Croy Castle houses offices of several companies. The barn in front of the castle is used as a shop and the gate building is part private residence, part bed & breakfast accommodation. The interior of the castle can not be visited. Too bad! I like its exterior very much.

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