IJsselmonde Castle

IJsselmonde Castle was a former castle that was situated in the IJsselmonde neighborhood of the city of Rotterdam, in the province of South Holland in the Netherlands.

The first castle named IJsselmonde (or Islamunda) was built in 1064 by the Bishop of Utrecht near where the Hollandse IJssel river flows into the Meuse. It was destroyed after a 16-day siege in 1076. The exact location of this initial castle is unknown. Over the following centuries, the area, which flooded regularly, was gradually embanked.

The second IJsselmonde Castle was constructed in 1483 by Floris Oem van Wijngaerden. The village of Oud-IJsselmonde grew around the castle. However, the castle didn’t last long, as it was destroyed in 1489 during the Jonker Frans War, the final conflict of the Hook and Cod Wars. In 1540, the remains of the castle and estate were purchased by Hendrik I van Merode, a member of a wealthy family from what is now Belgium.

The Merode family built the third IJsselmonde Castle in 1560 on the site of the second. They lived there until 1664, when they sold their holdings and moved to Belgium.

Adriaen Lampsins, a wealthy merchant from Middelburg, then acquired the castle. He had the third castle dismantled because it didn’t suit his preferences, and built the fourth and final castle on the same site. Although called a castle, it was actually a castellated mansion. In 1685, Lampsins sold the castle to Jean de Mey. After Jean’s death in the 1720s, it passed to the Bichon family, who began to call themselves Bichon van IJsselmonde. In 1900, C.J.A. Bichon van IJsselmonde decided to leave Oud-IJsselmonde and tore down the castle before leaving. Only the 17th-century coach house remained.

Throughout its existence, the castle was located in the village of Oud-IJsselmonde, which was annexed by Rotterdam in 1941. In 1972, archaeological excavations uncovered the castle’s foundations, which were later covered by the ramp of Willem van Gelderstraat up to the Oostdijk.

Today, nothing remains of IJsselmonde Castle.

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