Poelwijk Castle

Poelwijk Castle, locally known as Kasteel Poelwijk, lies next to the town of Gendt, in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands.

Already in 1275 a Van Poelwijck family from Gendt was known and perhaps they gave their name to this castle.

This tower is all that remains of Poelwijk Castle today. It dates back to the 15th century. This tower was originally the gate tower of the castle. How this castle looked is not known.

In 1441 Poelwijk Castle was first mentioned as a fief from the Duke of Guelders and was inhabited by the Collart family. In 1551 the castle again came into the possession of the Van Poelwijck family through marriage. In 1598 it went to the Van Wely family.

The Van Wichen family bought the castle in 1667. A Johan Maurits van de Poll, Lord of Hedel, inherited the castle in 1702.

A drawing dating back to 1731 shows that Poelwijk Castle at that time existed of the present tower with an extension. The castle itself had already disappeared. The former gate tower had been rebuilt into a tower house and had its entrance on the first floor.

Several other owners followed; the Schmitz, Slingervoet and Breunissen families. The latter built the farm next to the tower in 1864 which caused the disappearance of the extension of the tower.

During the winter of 1944-45 the tower was damaged by fights. Shortly after The Netherlands were liberated, the tower was damaged during a storm. After that a restoration followed which ended in 1960.

The tower is owned by the Castles of Gelderland foundation and can only be visited on special occasions like Open Heritage Days. The farm and the land surrounding the tower are privately owned and there is a B&B.

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