Kasteel Heukelum

Heukelum, Netherlands, Netherlands

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Kasteel Heukelum, originally called Merckenburg and located just outside the fortified town of Heukelum in the Netherlands on the Gelderland-South Holland border, was built around 1286 by the powerful Van Arkel family as a grand fortress with towers, a courtyard, double moat, and outer bailey.

The sole survivor of their nine castles after destruction during the Arkel War (1401-1412), it functioned as a high lordship mini-state with privileges like its own currency, high justice (halsrecht), and swans; later owned by the de Thiennes family, it suffered severe damage in 1672 when French troops under Louis XIV burned structures south of the Dutch Water Line.

Rebuilt after 1734 under Johan van der Stel and further adapted into an 18th-century country house appearance, the privately owned moated site preserves its medieval gate tower and hosts events today.