Duurstede Castle

Duurstede is a medieval castle located in the town of Wijk Bij, the Dutch province of Utrecht.

The castle was built around the XIII century. Zweder van Zuylen built it near the city of Dorestad, surrounded it with moats of water, and lived there with his family. The descendants of Zuylen owned the castle until 1449, when they were forced to sell it to the provincial bishop.

Bishop David Burgundy, who ruled from 1459 to 1496, completely rebuilt the castle. The tower was built here, and the facade of the building was completely redesigned. The bishop’s successors, Frederick IV and Philip of Burgundy, also owned the castle.

In 1580, the castle fell into state hands, and on the eve of the war, it was well fortified and rebuilt. But in 1672, it was completely destroyed by French troops.

In 1852, the city council turned the surrounding area into a park. The castle has been well preserved since the XIII century and is an excellent example of early medieval architecture. One of the corner towers of the castle was expanded in the XV century, its height after restoration was 40 meters.

At the moment, the castle is in ruined form and so far no measures have been taken to restore it.