Repeated history
The French occupation and freedom struggle thereupon are the reason for a grand event on and around our castle. After all, the castle played a prominent role during the French era in the Netherlands. At the end of the 18th century Pichegru, general of the French Revolution led by Napoleon, still used the castle as his headquarters.
10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Access via Parking Lot Canal Dike North
* Admission to the event is included with your entrance ticket.
)* Surcharge of €5 applies Museum card & membership Brabants Landschap
On Saturday, Aug. 24, at 1 p.m., troops will be inspected on the grounds opposite Castle Heeswijk by Hermance Gransberg-baroness van Heeckeren van Kell. Then, opposite the castle, the battle will begin with real rifle and cannon shots. Bring your earplugs! After the battle, the "survivors" retreat to their bivouac. See here the full agenda for Saturday, August 24
On Sunday, the troops are set up in the castle garden at 1 p.m. for inspection. The battle then begins at 1:30 p.m. See the full schedule for Sunday, Aug. 25, here
Will you go back in time with us? A bientôt !
Netherlands becomes France
Just a little history lesson. Was it really France here? The answer is "yes. During the French Period, the Kingdom of Holland was first ruled by a French monarch and finally annexed by the First French Empire. This lasted until 1813, when the northern Dutch departments of the Napoleonic Empire merged into the sovereign principality of the United Netherlands.
In the northern Netherlands, the Batavian-French Period lasted eighteen years. It began with the Batavian Republic (1795-1806). Although the central and northern parts of what is now the Netherlands were in the sphere of influence of the First French Republic, they were still independent of France. Until Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte lifted the republic in 1806 and established the Kingdom of Holland. Four years later, all of the country was annexed by France. So from then on, the inhabitants were real Frenchmen for three years!
Below the great rivers, the French Era lasted even twenty years, from 1794 to 1814. The fortress of Maastricht and other regions were already captured by the French Republican armies in the fall of 1794. On May 11, 1795, by the Treaty of The Hague, the Batavian Republic ceded almost all of the Netherlands below the great rivers to France. The territories already conquered were also incorporated into the French Republic.
Finally, the French were driven out in 1814. The Dutch territories came into the hands of the Allies and were ruled by some Dutch commissioners. In 1815, it was officially merged with the United Kingdom of the Netherlands (today's Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg).
Old times revive at the Castle as French soldiers impose themselves on the Batavian republic. We reenact the battle between the French republican army and the allies!
Parbleu, what is happening here? We are writing the early 19th century. A French army and their allied counterpart are taking up arms around the castle. Will the Batavian Republic shake off the French yoke? Experience the battle all over again!
Retrieved from 24 and 25 August 2024 we travel back in time, to the period from 1794 to 1814. The French Period, in which today's Netherlands formed the independent Batavian Republic. The French had quite a finger in the pie in our country at the time. Especially in the south, where the castle is located. At that time it looked like northern France here!
