Castle of Leiden by Dirk van Egmond

About "Castle of Leiden"

by Dirk van Egmond

About the artwork

With the raising of a palisade mound, the first beginnings of today's castle were made at this site in the 9th and 10th centuries. It was a pole-enclosed refuge for people and their livestock from possible attackers. Archaeological research has shown that a wooden building also stood at this site around the year 1000. In the 11th century, the mound was raised several times to about 9 metres above the surrounding area. Under Count Dirk VI, the wooden enclosure gave way to a tufa ring wall. During the Loon War in 1203 and 1204, the castle suffered major damage in battles, which was repaired with monastic bricks. Around 1275, the ring wall was rebuilt, probably by order of Floris V. In the 14th and 15th centuries, a tower is mentioned, the function of which is unclear, possibly a storage tower: the area was too small for habitation. The castle lost its military function, as the building became increasingly built in. In the years after 1651, a new entrance gate was built in the southern wall, which was embellished with natural stone coat of arms and the city coat of arms. In the centuries that followed, the structure was still regularly restored and modified. The lion above the gate (1662) is by sculptor Rombout Verhulst. The castle moat that ran from the Oude Rijn to the Nieuwe Rijn was filled in as early as the 16th or 17th century. This created the Burchtheuvelpad along the castle hill. Owing to the construction by architect Pieter van der Sterre of the