Ham tower

The Ham Tower in Vleuten is the remnant, but still an impressive remnant, of an old medieval fortress, as there were many in the western Utrecht landscape. It is not entirely certain, but it is likely that the castle Den Ham was built before 1300 at a cove of the old Rhine river, because at that time there is mention of a ‘stone house’. In any case, the first parts of castle Den Ham existed at the beginning of the fourteenth century. This castle began as a residential tower, against which wings were built in the following centuries, until there was a castle with an area that was about six times larger than the current Ham Tower. People sometimes think that this tower has something to do with Castle De Haar, but that is certainly not the case.

Slim Tower
The Ham Tower is a slender tower that carries a beautiful lantern. The total height is approximately 34 meters. The ground area of the Den Ham tower measures about 9 x 10 m. On the grounds stands a modern house. The entrance to the castle grounds has a nice gate. The coat of arms of the castle is placed above the gate passage. In the gate, two stones are also embedded with the inscriptions “Anno” and “1642”.
The tower has 6 floors, which is unusual for a residential tower from that time. They typically had 3 or 4.

Restoration
The current Ham Tower dates from the fifteenth century. Later, an entrance area was built between this tower and the original residential tower, creating a compact block altogether, which we know from drawings by Roelant Roghman and Jan de Beijer.
During the nineteenth century, the castle Den Ham fell into disrepair. In the years 1870 and 1871, the castle could still be measured in detail, but shortly thereafter, Den Ham had to be demolished due to decay, except for the still standing tower. However, as mentioned, the beautiful gate remains, in which the coat of arms of the knightly town is displayed.
In 1943, a temporary restoration was started. In 1963, a renewed restoration was successfully completed, and in 2019, restoration work began again.

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