(photograph © Kiwidutch)
Before we go exploring the inside of the Castle, you need to understand the location of Slot Loevestein castle and how it’s location has defined it’s history.
Slot Loevestein was built strategically at the junction of the Meuse and Waal Rivers by Knight, Dirc Loef van Horne in 1360 in order to levy tolls on both rivers.
It’s worthwhile to know that roads at this time were fairly non existent and boggy ground often made land areas impassable so waterways were the “highways” of choice as the quickest and safest way of transporting people and goods.
Exacting Tolls at various strategic places on rivers made many landowners very wealthy indeed, and such was the case with Dirc Loef van Horne .
As as additional bonus the castle also was strategically placed as a defensive position, and thus served as a military stronghold, and that’s how the small garrison town came to be attached to the Castle.
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
It also served as the state prison from which Hugo Grotius famously escaped in a book chest (more on those escapades in my next post) and as part of the “Hollandsche Waterlinie” (Dutch Waterline.)
So what was the “Dutch Waterline”? Well, it became clear during the Dutch war of independence from Spain that the deliberate flooding of low lying land against advancing enemies, worked brilliantly as a defensive tactic. During the 1574 Siege of Leiden it was used with great success.
The economic heartland of The Netherlands were the two provinces of North and South Holland and so Maurice of Orange Nassau planned to protect this area with a literal “moat” of flooded land. The edges of this “moat” were protected by fortresses that ran from Zuiderzee to the river Waal. Prince Frederick Henry implemented the plan in 1629.
Wiki tells us that : “Sluices were constructed in dikes and forts and fortified towns were created at strategic points along the line with guns covering especially the dikes that traversed the water line. The water level in the flooded areas was carefully maintained to a level deep enough to make an advance on foot precarious and shallow enough to rule out effective use of boats (other than the flat bottomed gun barges used by the Dutch defenders).
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
The Dutch Water Line proved its value less than forty years after its construction during the Franco-Dutch War of 1672 when it stopped the armies of Louis XIV from conquering the Dutch Republic.
In 1794-1795 the revolutionary French armies only overcame the obstacle posed by the Dutch Water Line due to the heavy frost that had frozen solid the flooded areas.“
Naturally owners of these fortresses gained not only Royal favour but also wealth and power so it’s little surprise that Slot Loevestein Castle was an excellent economic and strategic investment.
The defensive style of the Castle can be seen in the use of triangular bastions and ravelins, these are the triangular embankments that protrude out, extending the range of outgoing cannon fire and reducing the range of incoming cannon fire. The shape of the ramparts and earthen walls are also specifically designed to make storming of the fortress very difficult for foot soldiers. Let’s look around…
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
The models in the two photos above, show the garrison town and earthworks of the star fort construction.
The gateway in…
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
If you look inside the archway, in the middle on the left you can see one of the slots into which special panels are inserted when high water from the river threatens to flood the castle…
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
.. and there is good reason why… these are the records etched into the stone of the various waterlevels over the centuries. No wonder we were told by one of the guides that the garrison regularly complained of having wet feet!
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
You can see just how close to the river(s) it is…
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
Small guard towers positioned over the water, the small wooden structure gives a minimal protection against the elements…
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
Like all of the large European rivers, the Waal is still very much in use for barge transportation…
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
I have a go at photographing the waterlilies… clearly I’m no Monet when it comes to showing them well…
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
So, it’s clear that the number one adage of Real Estate ” Location, Location, Location” has it’s roots far back in history and is absolutely as true then as it is today… so just goes to show that there are no really new ideas under the sun, just better marketing strategies !
