Splendid castle is the Muiderslot, The Netherlands has many but certainly also beautiful castles, more than you think. Paul, you have sometimes been at the ruïne of Brederode in Santpoort, that is therefore really a complete old ruïne.
Lien.
Wonderful castle - sure is in good shape. How old is it?
You've done a great job with this picture. The lighting, the color, the comp are all excellent. I wish we had such interesting castles here.
Paul, the detail in the castle is fantastic! And that's a moat around it? Wonderful composition and lighting and a very interesting subject. I, too, would enjoy knowing the history. I'm assuming it's now only for tourists and no one lives there? A real treat to see! - Patty
Hallo Paul, erg mooie foto van het Muiderslot.
Wat direct opvalt is de rechte verticale lijnen, normalerwijs lopen die schuin weg met het perspectief. Ik zet dat recht op mn pc. Hoe heb jij dat voorelkaar gekregen ?
Afstand nemen en dan veel tele ? of een shiftlens ? een beetje info graag :)
Bedankt voor de post.
Hans.
This is such a pretty place, and I need to say that I've never seen a castle sitting IN a moat before..all the angles on the spires and the way they're lit up by the sun and the texture in the bricks adds to this take, but I would have cloned out the blue sign and the other dish-looking object to the right of it..but I'm being very picky here. A ten in my book :)PJ
The Muiderslot is located at the mouth of the river Vecht, some 15 kilometers southeast of Amsterdam, where it flows into what used to be the Zuiderzee. It's one of the better known castles in Holland and featured in many a television show set in the Middle Ages. The most famous of these must be Floris, tales about a Dutch knight and his saracen friend Sindela.
The history of the Muiderslot (Castle Muiden, where 'muiden' means rivermouth) begins with Count Floris V who built a stone castle at the mouth of the river back in 1280, when he gained command over an area that used to be part of the See of Utrecht. The River Vecht was the trade route to Utrecht, one of the most important tradetowns of that age. It's a small wonder the castle was used to enforce a toll on the traders. It's a relatively small castle, measuring only 32 by 35 metres with brick walls well over 1.5 metres thick. A large moat surrounds the castle.
Count Floris was captured whilst hunting by some of his lords who possibly intended to deliver him to his rival, the Prince-Bishop of Utrecht. He was killed when it seemed loyal troops might free him. Several days after his death the castle was razed to the ground by Willem van Mechelen, the Bishop-Prince of Utrecht.
A hundred years later, in 1370, the castle was rebuilt on the same spot according to the same plan, by Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria, who at that time was also the Count of Holland and Zeeland.
The next famous owner of the castle shows up in the 16th century, when P.C. Hooft (1581-1647), a famous author, poet and historian took over sheriff and bailiff duties for the area (Het Gooiland). For 39 years he spent his summers in the castle and invited friends, scholars, poets and painters such as Vondel, Huygens, Bredero and Maria Tesselschade, over for visits. This group became known as the Muiderkring. He also extended the garden and the (plum-) orchard, while at the same time an outer earthworks defense system was put into place.
At the end of the 18th century, the castle was first used as a prison, then abandoned and became derelict. Further neglect caused it to be offered for sale in 1825, with the purpose of it being demolished. Only intervention by King Willem I prevented this. Another 70 years went by until enough money was gathered to restore the castle in its former glory.
The Muiderslot is currently a national museum (Rijksmuseum). The insides of the castle, its rooms and kitchens, have been restored to look like they did in the 17th century and several of the rooms now house a nice collection of arms and armour. During summer falcons are kept in the castle and the tour offers some wonderful insights into medieval life and the origin of quite a few of our more popular sayings.
I am SO hoping you took photos inside, Paul - please tell me you did?? And thank you for the very informative history. Everything over here (especially where I am) is so new compared to your history there. Indians left little traces of their having been here. So I am completely enthralled by history that can be verified from so long ago. A prison? ooooh. Now falcons and tourists replace this. Good for King Willem! And thank you so very much for taking the time to write out this fascinating information. - Patty
Anything that excites me for any reason, I will photograph; not searching for unusual subject matter, but making the commonplace unusual.
Edward Weston
This is great Paul. Love that the moat is still there. Your capture is excellent and thank you so for posting it for us to share with you. TYU=thank you unnecessary ;)
Paul it's a beautiful picture of the Muiderslot.
When I will now something I look at wikipedia, and there you find a lot of things.
A little bit history:
The history of the Muiderslot (Castle Muiden, where 'muiden' means rivermouth) begins with Count Floris V who built a stone castle at the mouth of the river back in 1280, when he gained command over an area that used to be part of the See of Utrecht. The River Vecht was the trade route to Utrecht, one of the most important tradetowns of that age. The castle was used to enforce a toll on the traders. It is a relatively small castle, measuring 32 by 35 metres with brick walls well over 1.5 metres thick. A large moat surrounded the castle.
Wil you want more: www. wikipedia.nl and it is also in english.
Wil
Great composition Paul.You Euro's are so fortunate to have the old historical buldings and settings to shoot.You have done a great job showing this castle.
Peace&Respect Jojo
Fantastic castle! I do love the way you Europeans say ..."back in 1280...", the same way we Americans say ..."back in 1995..." I mean you guys got History!
Lien.