Schaesberg Castle

Schaesberg Castle is situated between the township Schaesberg of the city of Landgraaf and Heerlen. Nowadays only the ruins of its main building remain.

In its latest form the castle was rebuilt in the 16th and 17th century in Maasland Renaissance style. It used to be one of the best and largest examples of this architectonic style within Dutch Limburg. De Lords and Landgraves of Schaesberg inhabited the castle till the 18th century. After the French occupation the castle decayed more and more. As a result in 1965 the whole building was destroyed in a fire.
In 1945 the castle had been confiscated by the Dutch state because it was a German posession (the Schaesberg family lived in Germany). Since 1975 the remaining ruins of the castle have been consolidated.

In 2005 within the castle moats the two islands of the mansion and the front castle remained. On the foundations of the front castle new bricks were placed, giving an impression of the castle's size. Of the main building only two corners of the 17th century corner tower and some walls remained. The marl frames of the windows and marl corner stones still can be recognized, as these still can be seen at the Hoensbroek Castle and Passarts-Nieuwenhagen Castle.
Part of the foundation shows the typical "Speklagen", the alternating layers of marl and brick, which is typical for the Maasland Renaissance.

In the direct surroundings of the ruin a lot of buildings can be found which were paid by the Graves of Schaesberg. These buildings resemble the style of the castle. Two chapels, in Leenhof and Kakert, farm buildings and the Schaesberg church were built by Johan Frederik van Schaesberg in the 17th century.

At the ruin's east side remains of the Roman villa "Landgraaf-Schaesberg" have been found.

In 2012 plans were unfolded to rebuild the castle to its original state. This will be done using the old techniques from the time the castle was built originally.

Michel