GORINCHEM – During Open Monument Day, Saturday 14 September, it will be possible to view the remains of the 'castle' near the mill De Hoop and the Dalemsedijk. The remains were discovered during work for the dike reinforcement of the Dalemsedijk.
Part of the walls found
This discovery sheds new light on the exact location and size of the castle. The research was carried out in recent weeks by the Archaeology working group of the municipality of Gorinchem. In 1977, during work on the construction of an underground garage, remains of a castle were also found on the other side of the Dalemsedijk, so that the castle is much larger than initially thought.
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How big the castle actually was is difficult to determine, because there are no maps from that time. For the time being it is thought that the main castle was located on the inside of the Dalemsedijk and that the outer bailey stood between the river and the current dike. The castle of the Lords of Arkel was probably built between 1267 and 1290 by the Van Arkel family, who were also in charge of Gorinchem at the time. This castle was owned by Jan van Arkel, feudal lord of the Land of Arkel in those days, the land between the Lek and the Merwede. The land of Arkel was wedged between the duchies of Brabant and Gelre, the Sticht Utrecht and the county of Holland.
Allegiance owed
The ambitious Jan van Arkel owed his loyalty to the Count of Holland. In 1412, after the Arkel War, the castle was demolished on the orders of Willem van Beieren, the then Count of Holland, who had been inaugurated as lord of the land in Gorinchem on 24 August 1412. After his inauguration, Willem immediately had the castle of his hated enemy demolished. From that moment on, the land of Arkel was Dutch property. With the demolition of the castle, a lot of knowledge about these turbulent times was lost to posterity.
The remains of the castle will be marked with poles and such on Saturday 14 September, so that the contours are clearly recognisable. You will have a good view of the excavations from the De Hoop mill on the Dalemwal, where an oral explanation will be given at 14.00:16.00 and XNUMX:XNUMX.
September 10, 1996
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