Brederode Castle - Velserenderlaan 2

A pleasant day out and a very nice experience. Service is friendly at the outside seating area. A nice way to spend a day in outdoors. The ruins are well-kept, clean and accessible.

We really enjoyed exploring the castle ruin. You can climb up to the top of the remaining tower, walk around to the other side and down the stairs which lead to a room full of torture devices used in the past. Paper guide explained the castle rooms in english.

Beautiful ruin, partially restored. Using Playmobile figurines they have captured the battles of the past and really made it visual. Also learned some great new historic facts about the Netherlands. Because there's a quiz you can take for yourself it becomes a beautiful activity that takes you through the entire ruin and give you some of the best panoramic views. Really enjoyed. Recommendation: do not go on a rainy day.

We stumbled upon this place by pure accident during a Saturday bike ride and couldn't be more pleasantly surprised that this gem existed in our back yard! Extra points for the staff dressed in period clothing. ???

So nice still place, people there are friendly and hospitable You will want to go back there

This was a wonderful day trip location. We were lucky to have clear skys, so the views from the towers were beautiful. The grounds are lovingly maintained, the staff were knowledgeable and eager to answer questions and the historical artifacts were documented in English and Dutch. The castle was easy to find, has free parking and was definitely worth the price.

The Ruin of Brederode refers to the remains of Brederode Castle near Santpoort-South. The castle was founded in the second half of the 13th century by Willem I van Brederode (+- 1215–1285). This descends from the lords of Teylingen, who were related to the counts of Holland. The castle was part of the high lordship of Brederode, with which the lords of Brederode were enfeoffed by the count of Holland in the 13th century. The name Brederode refers to a piece of forest land (Brede Roede) that was cleared, on which the castle is built. At first the castle consisted only of a residential tower. The tower was demolished around 1300, after which Dirk II van Brederode had a square castle built. During the Hoekse and Kabeljauwse quarrels, the Brederodes remained loyal to Margaret of Bavaria, so that the castle was besieged in 1351 by the Cod-minded Gijsbrecht II van Nijenrode. After the surrender, the castle was so badly damaged that it was demolished. After the reconciliation between the Brederodes and the counts in 1354, it was rebuilt again. It was no longer inhabited, but remained a base for the Hoeken, led by Willem van Brederode. Because the Hoeken besieged Haarlem in 1426, the Kabeljauwen destroyed the southern part of the castle. Willem van Brederode was forbidden to "fortify, fasten or fortify" the castle, so that it could not be restored. Finally, the northern part was restored in 1464. During the revolt of the Kaas- en Brood People in 1492, the castle was looted by German soldiers. It has not been inhabited since then. In 1568 it came to the States of Holland. After the loss of the Watergeuzen in the Battle of the Haarlemmermeer, Haarlem had to surrender to the Spanish soldiers in 1573 after the siege of Haarlem. The protestant Lancelot van Brederode was beheaded by them and the castle was looted and set on fire. Subsequently, the ruins fell prey to the advancing shifting sands of the dunes. In 1579 a branch of the Brederodes received the seigniory from Holland again on loan. In 1679 Wolfert van Brederode (1649-1679), the last lord of Brederode, died, leaving the ruins again to the States of Holland and thus to the state of the Netherlands. When the Batavian Republic was formed in 1795, all regional properties were nationalized. Until January 15, 2016, the ruin was therefore owned by the State in the portfolio of the Government Buildings Agency. This monument was transferred to the National Monuments Organization on January 15, 2016. In the 19th century, the ruin was one of the first structures to be restored on behalf of the state. This happened in a rather romantic way. The remains of the Brederode's castle are registered as the first national monument. I have visited the castle twice. The first time I was able to visit and this was an immensely enjoyable experience. The second time the office was closed so that we could not visit properly. This was a disappointment as we had travelled from Amsterdam for nearly two hours on public transport. So we just walked around the castle moat and took some pictures.

From the woman at the entrance to the stuff around the castle, everyone was kind and helpful. English is not an issue at all! Castle is a must see, and a must hear! as the vibe around the castle is just amazing Doesn't take much to walk around it, is a quick half hour I'd say. Plus: they have some awesome kids' costumes and swords and helmets AND WOODEN STICK HORSES to just get right at the entrance for kids to enjoy the visit even more than adults!