Blauwe Toren | Bastion VI (1999, 2000)

The renovation of the fortress in 1999 provided the opportunity to search for remains of the Blauwe Toren (Blue Tower)Next to the Duveltjesgracht, the water board planned a sheet pile wall to reinforce the old fortress wall.

To prevent the steel wall from cutting through the old foundations of the castle, drilling and sounding were carried out along the entire wall.

The 6-metre deep test trench in the bastion,

Trial trench

Additionally, a test trench was dug. A 1,8-metre-wide foundation, possibly of a pier or buttress, was exposed, as well as a 40-centimetre-long foundation of a wall. This wall ran from the northeast to the southwest and was approximately one metre thick and three metres wide. To the east of the wall was a floor of red bricks (size 25x12x5 cm) that had been laid at right angles to each other. Due to the imminent risk of collapse of the profile wall, further investigation was too dangerous. Moreover, the work pit was too small to determine how the exposed walls relate to the total complex.

Bastions V and VI with the planned sheet pile wall (yellow) and the test trench (orange flag)

Especially in the first investigated layers large amounts of pottery from the 17th century and later were found. In the deeper layers some shards from the 13th and 14th century were found.

Mysterious cemetery

During the excavation, a human skull unexpectedly fell out of the wall profile. It was the skull of an adult male individual. The test trench appeared to run right along an inhumation. The rest of the skeleton seemed to be completely present but was not excavated further due to the imminent danger of collapse. Based on the nearby shard material, the burial dated from in or just after the second half of the 18th century. Possibly a victim of the siege of Gorinchem (1813-1814). The skull was reburied when the trial trench was closed. Also a year later, during work, several burials were found in the immediate vicinity of the Toll House.

Wall remains of Blue Tower still present in the corner of Bastion V (2000)

It is known that some bastions were used as a cemetery. Bastion IV was even called the 'Cemetery bastion' mentioned. Around 1800 there was an English military cemetery on the city wall and there was a Dutch-English military cemetery at the Krinkelwinkel. From 1807 onwards, the deceased from the military hospital were placed in 'the Terreplein of the Klein-Bolwerk' (Bastion X) buried.1B. Stamkot (1989)
Jewish Gorcum 1349-1964. A memorial book. Gorinchem. p. 15-16

The Jewish community also buried its dead in the fortress between 1799 and 1804.2B. Stamkot (1989)
Jewish Gorcum 1349-1964. A memorial book. Gorinchem. p. 15-16  Because the exact location of this cemetery is unknown, the consultant of Jewish cemeteries of the NIK was contacted immediately. However, he ruled out that this was a Jewish burial.

So we still know nothing about the cemetery. For any future disturbance of the ground on the bastions, archaeological supervision is also necessary for this reason. Perhaps with the help of bio-archaeological research more can be learned about the origins of the people who found their final resting place here. Around 2000, the research possibilities were still limited.

In 1412, after eleven years of fighting, the Arkel WarsThe peace between Holland en Gelre was founded on July 26, 1412 in Neighborhood near Duurstede signed. Less than a month later, William VI  honored as lord of the land within Gorinchem.

Shortly afterwards he had the Arkel castle built in the Wijdschild, east of Gorinchem, and started building a new castle on the Merwede, south of the city.

View of Gorinchem, Willem Schellinks (1637-1678),

The castle of the Counts of Holland

Little is known about this castle. It was built on the river as part of the medieval city fortifications and had to withstand both sieges from the river side and possible attacks from the city itself. For the construction, among other things, the Wolferense gate and a nearby corn mill at the southern end of the Molenstraat had to make way. 3A. Kemp (1656)
Life of the Illustrious Lords of Arkel and Annual Description of the City of Gorinchem, published by Hendrik Kemp. Gorinchem. p. 36.
Google Books In 1440 paid Philips the Good to the church of Gorinchem 17 Wilhelmus shields and 5 Flemish greats because he and his predecessors, Willem VI and Jacoba of Bavaria, houses and farmsteads had been confiscated. The surface of the complex probably covered a significant part of the terrain that later served as the outer bailey of the Blue Tower.

Jacoba van Beieren and Willem van Arkel in 1417, school poster by JH Isings (1906).

The lock was probably a few months after the siege of Gorinchem by William of Arkel, in the autumn of 1417, not yet habitable. In a charter of 7 March 1418, Jacoba van Beieren bore the castellany of her house and castle in Gorinchem "The Good Gate" named, to Dirk van Heukelum, who had to guard it with 40 armed men. The gate stood on the north side of the Kortendijk. Presumably this same building was also known as the "Gate of the Goddess". 4GC Labouchère (1931)
Notes on monuments in Gorinchem, Schelluinen, Woudrichem, Loevestein and Zalt-Bommel in: Archaeological Yearbook of the Dutch Archaeological Association. Utrecht. p. 55
PDF  According to Kemp, this gate was first mentioned in 1326. 5A. Kemp (1656)
Life of the Illustrious Lords of Arkel and Annual Description of the City of Gorinchem, published by Hendrik Kemp Gorinchem. p. 66.
Google Books

Charles the Bold

Almost fifty years later (1461) Charles the Bold, then again Charles of Charolais, with the construction of a 'new' castle, intended as a stronghold against his father Philips the Good with whom he was at that time involved in a power struggle. He also wanted to have a bridge built over the Merwede. The bridge was not built, his castle only partially. Father and son settled their differences in 1465. A striking part that was completed was a large tower on the south-east corner, clad with bluestone (a type of Blauwe Toren (Blue Tower) was called. Stamkot 6Stamkot, B. (1982)
History of the city of Gorinchem, Merewade series 5, Gorinchem. assumes, this possibly based on Van Goch 7HA van Goch (1898)
Van Arkel's Oude Veste, Historical and Archaeological Notes concerning the City of Gorinchem and its principal buildings and institutions. Gorinchem. p. 63-69., that Charles the Bold had a new castle built.

Detailed study for a city map, anonymous (1524-1578)

It seems much more likely, however, that he did not demolish the complex, which was not yet fifty years old, but had it adapted to his wishes and expanded to the river side. Abraham Kemp 8A. Kemp (1656)
Life of the Illustrious Lords of Arkel and Annual Description of the City of Gorinchem, edited by Hendrik Kemp; Gorinchem. p. 309-310; Google Books  gave an extensive description of the Burgundian castle in his chronicle, peppered with superlatives:

"Count Kaarl van Charloys, Lord of Arkel, only legitimate son of the great and powerful Duke Philip of Burgundy and the Netherlands, showing that he loved Gorinchem and Arkel more than his other Lordships of Betuynen, Castrebelin, Putten, Stryen, and Goyland, in this year 1461 on St. Lambert's Eve, the foundations of two large mighty towers at the castle of Gorinchem, with a long Hall near the Merwe, (in my time still called the Blue Toorn) whose equal in size, thickness and roundness of Toornen, in whole Germany, and France not and was"....

Gorinchem from the east (1568), anonymous panel

Kemp speaks of an extension of what he called The Castle of Gorinchem. Also Van der Aa 9A.J. van der Aa (1843)
Geographical dictionary of the Netherlands. Part 4. Gorinchem. p. 677 confirms this. Archival data on a possible demolition are also not known.

.... "So that one does not think this is untrue. The height above Duyts and Wals, so know, that the first Tower was thick of walls 36. feet, and remained above thick 29. feet, extremely artfully wrought, with strong prisons, beautifully vaulted cellars, magnificent iron railings, through which, as through other slits, the light was scooped, having inside a beautiful Born-well that received the clear stream water from the Merwen. The 2. Tower was just as thick, but not raised so high. The 3. Tower remained imperfect, all of blue stone, vomited from the bowels of the Luykse mountains. On top of the first Tower, there were then made of gray Arduyn, many beautiful rooms, with many lofts, with blue roofs and many beautiful lights, and windows, above, within walls a square place, and many dwellings. Also a higher projecting Tower, with broad stone winding steps, above a Trans, or Walkway around the square Tower, with a staircase, and within a Corn-mill, to grind with horses, outside the bluework was a beautiful Cingel, to the great Tower where one could look out all around, on water and on land, with a sloping roof, glorious to behold, all around with a wide moat, and the other, to lead a lock there, after entering, (my Author said, having seen and entered all this.) In the upper part of the Castle after the Merwen-zy, stood a large square Tower, called Barbarien, after the East Hertogh Kaarls Torntjen, with lustigh overlooking the water, further a Tower, called Bourgoenjen, jutting out deep into the stream, with high walls. At the gate, where in our time the Wolfs-kuyl was at the fluyt-boom of the harbor, stood Lord Duke Philips of Ravesteijns Toorntgien. In the upper fore-court, was a Cingel-muyr with high stone arches, in there was a gate, and Tower, with a Drawbridge to the lower court and a moat around it, with a round Tower on the corner towards the City, (below was the torture bench) above flat, vaulted with a Church in it, the lower Court had beautiful courts, a large Linden tree, with a seting, over-muyrt large long stables, a gate and moat to the Stadtwaard, and Almeyen there in front..."

Banquet at the Burgundian court

Master builder

The structure consisted mainly of a very large keep with exceptionally thick walls, clad on the outside with moisture-resistant blue limestone. Since it was situated on the river, its foundation must have been a huge undertaking. It was a highlight of medieval fortification art and foundation engineering and was an odd duck in the Dutch pond in terms of architecture. 10R. Meischke (1988)
The Gothic building tradition. Studies on clients and architects in the Netherlands. Amersfoort. p. 101, 118

Fastré Hollet was mentioned in 1472 as a supplier of lime for Loevestein CastleAccording to the accounts, he was charged with the construction of 'the Castle of Gorinchem' .11DBM Hermans (1996)
Materials and personnel during the maintenance work of Loevestein Castle in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. in: Monuments and Building History; Yearbook of Monument Care 1996. Zeist/Zwolle. p. 214. PDF (17,5 MB) However, Hollet became best known as a clerk to Philip the Good for his accounting of the expenses for the exorbitant wedding celebration of Charles the Bold and Margaret of York in Bruges (1468).12M.W. Ainsworth (1998)
The Business of Art: Patrons, Clients, and Art Makers in: MW Ainsworth & K. Christiansen; From Van Eyck to Bruegel: Early Netherlandish Painting in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York. p. 23 Google Books  From 1477 to 1482 Hollet was mentioned (ao Kemp) as bailiff of Gorinchem and the Land of Arkel and he also lived at the castle from this position. It seems that Hollet must have had a rather special career: from clerk to master builder and then also bailiff. It is more obvious that Hollet, on behalf of the Burgundian court, mainly supervised the construction as 'controller' and that the actual architects have remained anonymous to this day.

Renovation 1522-1530

By order of the governor Margaret of Austria in 1524 the construction of the characteristic roof with the stepped gables began. A bulwark was also built to the north of the keep. The architect was Rombout II Keldermans, personal architect of Charles VThe building contract was signed on 1 September 1523 by the carpenters Jacob Snouc from Gorinchem and Joos Janssone de Keyser from The Hague. The stone suppliers were named: Michiel Yselwijns and Anthonis de Vleeshouwere. 13M. Hurx (2013)
Architect and contractor, The rise of the building market in the Netherlands 1350-1530. Nijmegen/'s-Gravenhage. p. 241, 338.

Reconstruction of the Blue Tower by Hein Hundertmark, projected on Google Maps

Projection of some maps and aerial photos of WWII on Google Maps

Size

The castle originally had two floors: a ground floor with, among other things, a 'knight's hall'  above vaulted cellars, which housed the prisons. According to 17th century data 14A. Kemp (1656)
Life of the Illustrious Lords of Arkel and Annual Description of the City of Gorinchem, published by Hendrik Kemp. Gorinchem. p. 309-310; PDF (28 MB) the castle had walls 36 feet thick (approx. 11,3 m), decreasing in thickness upwards to 29 feet (approx. 9,1 m). From the reconstruction of the houses built on top of the tower in 1524 it appears that this measurement refers to the thickness of the ring. 15Reconstruction in the context of Taco Hermans's candidate thesis for the Delft University of Technology in 1982. The walls themselves would have been much thinner. The total diameter of the castle was approximately 46 m at the bottom, decreasing to approximately 42 m at the top. It seems that the dimensions of the Blue Tower represented a kind of ideal size. Also the best-known 14th century European princely round castles such as the one dating from the first half of the 14th century Bellver Castle (diameter approximately 45 m) in Palma de Mallorca and built between 1361 and 1377 (by King Edward III) Queenborough Castle (diameter approximately 44 m) in Kent were of much the same dimensions. 16HL Janssen, JMM Kylstra-Wielinga & B. Olde Meierink (1996)
1000 Years of Castles in the Netherlands. Function and Form Through the Ages. Utrecht. p. 106

Blue Tower, Jacob van der Ulft (1644-1683)

Jacob van der Ulft

There are virtually no contemporary images of the Blue Tower. Shortly after Kemp's publication in 1656, a work by Jacob van der Ulft an etching of the castle complex. Besides Kemp's description, Van der Ulft probably based his representation on the engraving from Civitas orbis terrarum (ca. 1580) by Georg Braun and Frans Hogenberg showing, in a strongly distorted cityscape, a square (!) Blue Tower. We find this element in his engraving as the tower "Brewery"The Gorcumse Italianizer placed the castle isolated in an open landscape, making the building seem detached from the fortress and the rest of the city. As an artist, Van der Ulft created his own ultimate fantasy image of the Blue Tower. His work was copied by later artists into the 19th century.

Gorinchem from the south, G. Braun and F. Hogenberg (ca 1580)

Jacob van Deventer

The map of Jacob van Deventer in his city atlas from ca. 1558 gives a more realistic picture of the complex. Despite the fact that he somewhat abstracted the most important buildings on his maps, we know, partly on the basis of his other city maps, that his work is very reliable and dimensionally accurate. It is striking that his representation of the castle complex also completely matches Kemp's description. Neither Kemp nor Van der Ulft, but also Van Goch, knew Van Deventer's maps. Jacob van Deventer worked on behalf of Philips IIHis city atlas only became known in the Netherlands at the end of the 19th century because his work had gone unnoticed in the Dump was.

Detail city map of Gorinchem by Jacob van Deventer (1558)

Demolition

In connection with the construction of a new fortress, the dismantling of the castle was started in 1578. It formed a weak link in the defense of the city and therefore did not fit into the plans of the fortress designer Adriaan AnthoniszThe released stones were used for the new fortress. Kemp wrote about this:

"This highly famous Castle, these excellent Towers, Gates, Muyren, Cingelen, and other wonderful buildings have begun to be completed break the year 1578 and finally destroy it to the ground 1600 having stood in full for one hundred and seventeen years, from 1461 to 1578 and further piecemeal until 1600. So that I still several buildings as high as a man's length, above the ground, "I have seen."

Detail city map by Abraham Kemp (1592-1597)

A drawing of the emergency fortifications to be built, which were to protect the city from intermediate attacks during the construction of the new fortress, by bailiff Jacob Kemp (1592), shows the exact location of the remains of the main tower. The National Archives also contains a drawing by Symon and Cornelis Jansz that provides a similar image. Here we also see the tors which was rediscovered in 2016 during archaeological research. Around 1649, the roundel also disappeared and the bastion was given the definitive form as we know it today. 17Annema, W. & J. Kamphuis (2002)
Fortifications Gorinchem. Seventeenth and Eighteenth century, Delft, p. 1.
PDF (1 MB)

Detail map Symon and Cornelis Jansz from 1592

Legend

Van der Aa reported that it was not until 1831 that the last pieces of the foundations disappeared from view. 18A.J. van der Aa (1836-1851)
Geographical dictionary of the Netherlands. Part 4. Gorinchem. p. 677 These remains undoubtedly captured the imagination of the city's inhabitants and gave rise to a legend. Every Gorkummer knows the story of the evil castle lady who had the bad habit of celebrating in times of famine and scrubbing her inner courtyard with milk in front of the starving population. Until God had enough of this and, as punishment, threw her, castle and all, into the Devil's Moat (also called ''Duveltjesgracht') made it disappear.19HF van Peer (1975)
Strong Gorcum Stories. Goudriaan. p. 130-136

Foundations Krabsteeg 1983

In 1983, a construction pit south of the Krabsteeg, nowadays Schuttersgracht, a very heavy approximately 9.30 m thick wall running approximately east-west emerged. The wall was built with stones of approximately 25 x 5 x 12 cm, this wall was still preserved up to a height of approximately 3,50 m and rested on a foundation of wood. Parallel to this wall, 2,5 m to the north of it, a second approximately 2,5 m thick wall had run, which had been demolished by the contractor in the meantime, but could still be seen in the profile of the construction pit.20DP Hallewas (1984)
Gorcum; Krabsteeg; discovery of wall remains possibly in connection Blauwe Toren (Blue Tower); Archaeological Chronicle of South Holland 1983; Regional Historical Journal Holland; 16th year no. 6. p. 322. PDF (7 MB) Near the foundations, rubble concentrations of blue-gray limestone were also visible.

Foundations with the drilling rig in the foreground, photos Daan Hallewas

Provincial archaeologist Daan Hallewas of the National Service for Archaeological Heritage concluded, based on the size of the stone and the blue-gray bluestone found, that the wall remains may have been part of the Blauwe Toren (Blue Tower). No further archaeological research was carried out. Architectenburo De Bie made a drawing PDF (197 KB). Despite the contractor's best efforts to remove obstacles to his pile-driving work, he had to spend a few extra weeks first drilling holes with a diamond drill before he could lower the piles.

Projection of the wall work found in 1983 (in brown lines)

During the discussion about the finds Buiten de Waterpoort confusion arose about the year in which these walls were found, partly due to an incorrect editorial change in an article by Martin Veen from 1999.21M. Veen (1983)
The Blue Tower; in Oud-Gorcum Varia; 1998-3; p.280-284. PDF (15 MB) Incorrectly 1976 was reported as the year of discovery. In 197522H. Sarfatij (1976)
Gorinchem, Wijdschild Wall remains of the castle of the lords of Arkel found during work on ravelins; Archaeological Chronicle of South Holland 1975; Regional Historical Journal Holland; 8th year no. 6. p. 276. PDF (8 MB) in 197723H. Sarfatij (1978)
Gorinchem, Wijdschild discovery of foundations of the castle of the lords of Arkel; Archaeological Chronicle of South Holland 1977; Regional Historical Journal Holland; 10th year no. 6. p. 308. PDF (7 MB) were wall remains of the castle of the Arkels in the Wijdschild found but nothing related to the Blauwe Toren (Blue Tower).

Buiten de Waterpoort 2016 - 2017

De discovery of one of the towers on the part of the fortress wall behind which the outer bailey of the castle grounds was also located, caused a lot of publicity. The castle of Charles the Bold naturally appeals to everyone's imagination.

Fortress wall Buiten de Waterpoort, 2016-2017

Both the old castle of the Dutch counts and the later Blue Tower were so interwoven with the fortress during construction that, based on what we know from scientific research to date, we apparently can hardly distinguish between castle and fortress walls. The recent discovery of the tower Buiten de Waterpoort led to the necessary discussion between the archaeologists and building historians involved. The discovered tower was in any case also part of the 14th century fortress and therefore originally dates from the period before the Blue Tower was built. For more information about this research, see Buiten de Waterpoort 2-6 (2016-2017)

Martin Veen