Top 9 Castles around As

Through the centuries, Kasteel Stein has housed an impressive series of remarkable residents. You visit an iconic building that has experienced both growth and prosperity as well as decay through the centuries, until the ruins organically merged into the beautiful, romantic English landscape park.

Through the centuries, kasteel Stein has housed an impressive series of notable residents. You visit an iconic building that, through the centuries, has known both growth and prosperity as well as decay, until the ruins organically merged into the beautiful, romantic English landscape park.

The history of the Maas village Leut is largely linked to the history of the castle Vilain XIIII which dominates the village center. As early as the Middle Ages, the castle (then a fortress) was inhabited by the 'lords of Leut'. Over the centuries, the medieval moated castle with two moats and a drawbridge evolved into an open residential building with a fixed bridge over the remaining moat, surrounded by a vast park in English landscape style. A stately avenue connects the village square with the castle.

The ruin of Castle Stein is a so-called water castle, built on a so-called 'motte'. It consists of two parts, a lower bailey with outbuildings, separated from the main castle. A fortification probably already stood on the castle hill around 1220. Around 1300, a water castle was built, of which only a ruin now remains. The lower bailey and main castle are inseparably linked. They were separated by a wide moat. The lower-lying Benedenste Slot regulated traffic with the outside world. Besides security, it served primarily economic purposes. The service staff lived there and the soldiers were stationed there. To get there, one had to cross a wide moat with a drawbridge from the village. Since the 18th century, this has been filled in and spanned by a fixed bridge. The buildings of this "Voorgeborgte" have been completely renovated in later times and rest underwater on older, thicker marl walls. The entrance hall with gate under a late Gothic sandstone arch (16th century) was a Valkenburg fief in the Middle Ages (the Witte Poort). Around 1730, it was expanded into a full tower, covered with a mansard roof. Above the entrance and in the weather vane is the coat of arms of the Merode family. In the late Middle Ages, the Lordship of Stein was owned by the de Merode family. The gate was enclosed by low brick buildings with east and west wings, which were replaced in the 19th century by a manor house (the new castle) and an outbuilding (coach house). Source and more info at https://stichtingerfgoedstein.nl/over-het-museum/kasteelruine-stein/de-kasteelruine For a time, priests and nuns also lived in the castle, which was also known as the mission house, and of which the monastery cemetery and a memorial column at the entrance bear witness.

The castle ruin can only be visited by appointment and on a few special occasions. However, you can walk around the moat and see it from almost every possible angle. Incidentally, there are not only the ruins. Be sure to also walk to the Witte Poort, behind which lies the (closed to unauthorized persons) entrance to the courtyard (which you can also see). About the castle: "Castle Stein is perhaps the most interesting monument from the recent history of Stein. It is located in the valley of the Putbeek, a stone's throw from the Archeology Museum. The castle dates from the early 13th century, when Stein emerged as an independent Imperial Fief from a former Carolingian royal estate under the sovereignty of a lord or baron. Both for the security and protection of his territory and his subjects, and in recognition of his overlordship, he possessed the right of a defensible castle." A description and many stories and facts can be found at https://stichtingerfgoedstein.nl/over-het-museum/kasteelruine-stein In the late Middle Ages, the Lordship of Stein was owned by the de Merode family. You can still see this in the castle. For a time, priests and nuns also lived in the castle, which is also known as the mission house and of which the monastery graveyard and a memorial pillar at the entrance bear witness.

With the Castle d'Aspremont-Lynden, the Museum Church, the Museum Pharmacy, Distillery Senden and the many historical buildings you travel back in time. The Drossaerdhuis, the Gatehouse and the Court of Justice are also worth a visit. In other words, a picturesque open-air museum.

Stein Castle is located between the village of Stein and the Juliana Canal. It is a water complex consisting of the ruins of an old main castle with an outer bailey, a north wing with an entrance gate, a west wing with a coach house and an east wing. It is a water complex consisting of the ruins of the old main castle and the lower outer castle with an entrance gate, a west wing with a coach house and an east wing with a villa. The castle ruins can be visited by appointment. You can easily cycle around the castle ruins, which offers beautiful photo opportunities.

Oud Rekem is well worth a visit by bike or on foot. Simply drive through the narrow streets and marvel at the many sights. In 2008, the place was voted the most beautiful village in Flanders, and it truly deserves it.