[1] Zanddijk (Sandick) literally means dike on the sand, i.e. on an area with sandy ground.

The second part of the name: Burg marks its origin as one of the many defendable structures built on an artificial hill.

The outer bailey of the castle reached almost up to the Veerse Watergang, which connects Veere to Middelburg.

After the land had been made dry much later, the outer moat on the west side of castle terrain was found to have become part of a new waterway which ran from Zanddijk to the Veerse Watergang.

[3] In the late seventeenth century Kornelis Klein, mayor of Veere investigated the ruins of Zandenburg.

Based on his work, several artists later made reconstructions of how they thought Zandenburg looked previously.

[4] The most striking element of one of the eighteenth century reconstructions is an artificial hill that looks like an impossible sphere planted on the castle grounds.

It is based on Hildernisse's drawing of the foundations, which shows a circular structure in the center of the terrain.

It dated from the thirteenth century or earlier and according to later drawings, it had a diameter of about 35 m. It could have been one of the c. 150 artificial hills in Zeeland.

The Madrid version of the Veere map clearly shows a rectangular castle and no hill.

Verwey also noted that in 1551, when the castle was still intact, the historian Reygersberg, who lived in Veere wrote:[3] en neffens der oud sale van Zandenburch ziet men noch hedentendage eenen hoghen Zandbergh liggende.

However, he noted that out of fear for the Spanish the inhabitants of Veere demolished a lot at Zandenburg, and that they would certainly have levelled a high hill close to the city walls.

[13] These small remains are in line with the accepted theory that the first Zandenburg was built by Wolfert van Borselen in about 1280.

[10] The big square castle and its huge outer bailey date from the second half of the 15th century.

[8] On the northern corner of the main castle was a tower house with walls of about 2 meter thick at the base.

The report of the excavations did not date the tower house differently from the rest of the main castle.

[13] Accounts indicate the presence of a wall with arcs and a chemin de ronde on the outer bailey.

Hildernisse probably missed this structure, because later reconstructions showed a large square church building, which had nothing to do with what the archaeologists found.

[13] This is a sign of wealth, and so is the size of the main castle and of the outer bailey, and the presence of a separate chapel.

Hendrik belonged to a younger branch of the Van Borselen family, named for the village Borsele on Zuid-Beveland.

[17] In 1282 Wolfert I van Borselen and his wife Sibilie paid homage to Countess Beatrice of Holland for their lands near Zandijk.

In 1303 Wolfert II sided with the Count of Flanders, and the inhabitants of Veere killed their Holland governor.

In 1350 Count William granted or confirmed Wolfert III in the possession of Veere and other goods, including Zandenburg.

[27] Wolfert VI of Borselen (c. 1433–1487) married Mary Stewart, Countess of Buchan at Zandenburg in 1444.

Wolfert VI was on the losing side in the Flemish revolts against Maximilian of Austria and died in exile.

[9] However, Anna's rule from 1498 till the ascent of her son was glorious, with Veere expanding, and many princes visiting Zandenburg.

However, his mother lived till 1518, and documents indicate that for a time she continued to be involved on a daily basis.

This was a general model of organization, but for Maximilian's court, details of the number of staff and their names are known.

[5] In 1582 William the Silent had bought the marquisate, but he was only interested in the power that this gave him in the States of Zeeland.

It led to a hasty archaeological excavation of part of the terrain by Jaap Renaud, because any foundations that were found would be removed.