Batestein Castle

[1] Gijsbrecht had captured the count of Saint Pol during the Battle of Baesweiler in 1371 and imprisoned him in the castle.

They held high military and political positions, serving as advisors and commanders, and holding titles such as the viscountship of Utrecht and count of Brederode.

Batestein gained significant political importance when the Geuzen gathered here to prepare and draft the Compromise of Nobles in 1566, which Hendrik offered to Margaret of Parma (1522–1586), the Governor of the Netherlands.

[2] In 1567, Vianen fell into Spanish hands; the city was dismantled, and the goods of Van Brederode were confiscated.

[2] After the Eighty Years' War, the castle returned to the hands of the Van Brederodes, who had fought on the side of the States.

[2] He was a field marshal in the State army and had good relations with the court of the princes of Orange.

The couple received many guests in Vianen, including prince Frederick Henry and his wife countess Amalia of Solms-Braunfels, the counts of Nassau and Solms, the viscount Dohna and members of the States of Holland, who were received royally.

[3] Initially, the property went to the von Dohna family, but in 1687, it was inherited by Simon Henry, Count of Lippe (1649–1697), who was married to Amalia of Dohna-Vianen.

[2] The heavy financial burdens persisted, and in 1725, Simon Henry Adolph, Count of Lippe-Detmold (1694–1734) sold Batestein Castle and the lordship of Vianen to the States of Holland and West Friesland.

The princes of Dohna had collected their heirlooms in a Brederode room, which existed in Schlobitten Palace until its destruction in 1945.

A local foundation called Hof van Brederode Vianen is working to restore a portion of the castle gardens.

The foundation aims to make an accurate reconstruction based on historical imagery and archaeological and cadastral sources.

[4] Around 1560, Hendrick van Brederode had a country estate built for his wife Amalia of Neuenahr (1539–1602), west of Vianen: Amaliastein.