Tongelaar Castle

Tongelaar Castle, locally known as Kasteel Tongelaar, lies north of the village of Mill, in the province of North-Brabant in the Netherlands.

The first mention of a castle on this site is in 1282 when Tongelaar Castle was dedicated to Count Floris V by Jan van Cuyk. The Van Cuyk family was probably owner of the castle until somewhere in the 15th century when it was owned by the Van Merwick family. In later centuries, ownership of the castle passed through several noble Dutch and Belgian families until the 20th century.

The only medieval part of Tongelaar Castle is the square brick tower. This was originally the gate tower and would have been equipped with a drawbridge. The large window would have been the entrance. This tower dates back to the early 15th century. Archaeological research proved that there had been a fortified medieval building at the opposite side of the gate tower but that they had not been connected by walls with each other. The tower would have had several living quarters and had a prison below ground level.

All the other present buildings were built in the 18th and 19th century. The western wing was either built on the foundations of an earlier building or built with the use of old building materials.

The tower is now a corner tower of a closed square farm with a simple courtyard.

At present the complex is used for cultural activities and can not be visited.

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