The Castle IJsselstein is located in the centre of the city of IJsselstein in the province Utrecht. The castle was already mentioned in 1144. The castle was, with the approval of Jacoba van Beieren, demolished in 1418 and rebuilt in 1427.
The most famous inhabitants of the castle came from the family Van Amstel. They founded the town IJsselstein from the castle around 1300 and called themselves Van IJsselstein since then. Gijsbrecht van IJsselstein received permission from the Bishop of Utrecht to build a parish church in IJsselstein. This Saint Nicholas church was consecrated in 1310. Under Gijsbrecht IJsselstein grew from a castle with some farms into a town.
In 1297 the castle was besieged and defended for a year by Bertha van Heukelom, wife of Gijsbert van IJsselstein.
After 1511 the castle lost its function and after a steady decline from 1700 onwards it was demolished in 1887. The main tower (the Looierstoren) has been preserved. It is owned by the National Trust.
Castle IJsselstein plays a leading part in the 19th century children's book Fulco the Minstrel.
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