Kasteel Asten
manor, mansion
43m
Asten, Noord-Brabant

At the border of The Peel, hidden behind the lush greenery, lie the romantic ruins of the Castle of Asten, which are over 600 years old

https://media.whitetown.sk/pictures/nl/kasteelasten/kasteelasten.jpg
Previous names
Kasteel Asten, Kasteel Asten
You need to sign in to save your wishes
Description

At the border of The Peel, hidden behind the lush greenery, lie the romantic ruins of the Castle of Asten, which are over 600 years old.

History of the Castle of Asten

In many aspects, the village of Asten was founded as a border settlement, as it was located at the border of the desolate reclamation area The Peel, which was also the age-old border of the Duchies of Brabant and Gelre or the modern border between the provinces of North Brabant and Limburg. In the Middle Ages, this relatively empty area was opened up and developed mainly by missionaries (Willibrord), monks (Norbertines) and secular lords (Lords of Cuijck).

It is around this time (1399), that “‘t Huys tot Asten” is first mentioned in the annals. Starting as an agricultural center of operations or “mansio”, it is rapidly expanded to a genuine castle with a fortification, a residential area and a homestead. While the area is being plagued by failed harvests and pillaging armies, the castle is converted into a manor for a nobleman, built in Renaissance style, around the year 1600, at which point the front of the castle with its characteristic tower gets its current form. It is also during this era that one of the most colorful and infamous lords of the castle, Bernard van Merode, manages to expand the estate, mainly by expropriating the so-called wizards and witches in the area he so actively prosecuted.

And while the castle was still expanded in 1680 by Everard van Doerne, it starts to fall into disrepair in the 18th century, as a result of long periods of absence of the Dutch regents who now owned the castle. The stately manor of old is steadily becoming an abandoned hunting and summer residence, only occasionally rented out to third parties or inhabited by “land agents”. The castle continues to fall into disrepair in the nineteenth century, the same time of the continuing restriction of the seigniorial rights.

The process of decay continues until Baron Clemens van Hövell tot Westerflier comes with a willful initiative. However, his fanciful reconstruction of the old north wing is destroyed in 1944 by a German phosphor grenade. A few years after the death of Baron Clemens Jr. in 1981, the dowager sells the castle to the current Foundation.

https://www.vvvdepeel.nl/en/activiteitenkaart/detail/castle-asten--621207ea-3fb9-4915-89c4-d2fc0336152a

Useful information

Free

Free

Free

Free

sbka@outlook.com

- Castle ruins

- Private property