We drove to Slot Zuylen armed with a museum card and a camera.
As we got out of the car, I looked at the dark clouds and quickly grabbed the camera to take photos of the exterior and surroundings, which turned out to be a good choice. Within minutes, it started raining heavily, and we admired the castle from the inside.
A piece of history
Slot Zuylen is one of the oldest castles along the Vecht river. In the mid-13th century, a residential tower was built on this site at the request of the Van Zuylen family. In the 15th century, the owner Frank van Borssele came into conflict with people from Utrecht, resulting in the destruction of the residential tower.
In the 17th century, the castle came under new ownership with Adam van Lockhorst and later the Van Reede family. Through the marriage of Hendrik Jacob van Tuyll van Serooskerken and Anna Elisabeth van Reede, Slot Zuylen came into the possession of the Van Tuyll van Serooskerken family, who owned it until 1952.
Initially, the castle was only inhabited by the family during the summer, while they stayed in their townhouse on Kromme Nieuwegracht in Utrecht during the winter. Later, the family started living permanently at Slot Zuylen.
The family
The Van Tuyll van Serooskerken family is a noble lineage that held a prominent position in Zeeland in the 15th century and later in other parts of the country. In 1822, the King recognized the family, allowing them to bear the title of baron.
More information
If you ever have nothing to do on a Sunday, I highly recommend visiting Slot Zuylen. For more information, please visit the Slot Zuylen website.