RADBOUD CASTLE

Count Floris V built a series of forced castles to keep the West Frisians in check, of which Radboud Castle in Medemblik is the only one left. In earlier times, Radboud Castle was larger in size. Now two residential wings with square towers and a round corner tower remain.
A forced castle is a fortified structure from which the inhabitants of the town or the surrounding region could be restrained. In the Low Countries there have been many forced castles. Partly due to the varied areas of wilderness, swamps, lakes, lands and mounds, it was sometimes difficult to control the common people and suppress uprisings after conquering the area. Coercive castles were often a good tool for this.
The floor plan of Radboud Castle differs from what was customary at the time, it did not have a heavy main tower (keep). The castle consisted of a rectangular square of about 40 by 40 meters. At the corners were round protruding towers and in the middle of the sides smaller also protruding square towers. In the middle of the east side was a gate tower. Although the outer walls and towers for a castle were not particularly heavy, the castle was still considered a strong castle. The defensive strength of the castle rested on the protruding towers, which allowed an intensive defense of the walls. In later times, the siege means became better and the walls and towers were raised higher.
When the castle was handed over to the Empire in 1889, there was nothing left of it but the two residential wings with two square towers and the foundations of the southwestern round corner tower.
Between 1890 and 1897 the castle was restored by the state. Without this restoration, there would not be much left of the castle. A second restoration took place in 1967.

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