Zandenburg

About

Zandenburg was a famous castle just south of Veere. Nothing remains of it, except some foundations below ground level.

Zandenburg was first mentioned as the house and fortress ( veste ) in the Lordship ( ambacht ) of Zanddijk. Zanddijk ( Sandick ) literally means dike on the sand, i.e. on an area with sandy ground. Likewise, Zandenburg is the burg (castle) near or on the sand. The second part of the name: Burg marks its origin as one of the many defendable structures built on an artificial hill.

The remains of Zandenburg are located just south of the walls of Veere. In 1812 Veere's fortifications reached the castle terrains. The outer bailey of the castle reached almost up to the Veerse Watergang, which connects Veere to Middelburg. In 1944 the Inundation of Walcheren took place. After the land had been made dry much later, the outer moat on the west side of the castle terrain was found to have become part of a new waterway which ran from Zanddijk to the Veerse Watergang.

Zandenburg was first mentioned as the house and fortress ( veste ) in the Lordship ( ambacht ) of Zanddijk. Zanddijk ( Sandick ) literally means dike on the sand, i.e. on an area with sandy ground. Likewise, Zandenburg is the burg (castle) near or on the sand. The second part of the name: Burg marks its origin as one of the many defendable structures built on an artificial hill.

The remains of Zandenburg are located just south of the walls of Veere. In 1812 Veere's fortifications reached the castle terrains. The outer bailey of the castle reached almost up to the Veerse Watergang, which connects Veere to Middelburg. In 1944 the Inundation of Walcheren took place. After the land had been made dry much later, the outer moat on the west side of the castle terrain was found to have become part of a new waterway which ran from Zanddijk to the Veerse Watergang.

In the late seventeenth century Kornelis Klein, mayor of Veere investigated the ruins of Zandenburg. He ordered some digging for the foundations and had the mathematician Isaac Hildernisse take measurements. Like Hildernisse did at other places, he made a floor plan, but this was lost. Based on his work, several artists later made reconstructions of how they thought Zandenburg looked previously.

The most striking element of one of the eighteenth century reconstructions is an artificial hill that looks like an impossible sphere planted on the castle grounds. It is based on Hildernisse's drawing of the foundations, which shows a circular structure in the center of the terrain. A very solid explanation of the impossible sphere was given by Verwey. He noted that the path around the hill, and the cupola on top resembled a very close by castle motte which had such a path and cupola only decades before, and might have inspired the drawers.

There can be little doubt that there was a circular, and therefore artificial structure at Zandenburg. It dated from the thirteenth century or earlier and according to later drawings, it had a diameter of about 35 m. It could have been one of the c. 150 artificial hills in Zeeland. In such case, it is probable that Zandenburg was a motte-and-bailey castle. Jaap Renaud thought a round water castle much more likely than a small hill. Not in the least because he did not see any document that referred to an elevated terrain.

In 1955 a single trench was dug through the area where the hill was supposed to be. The ground was sterile and did not show any evidence typical for artificial hills. Nothing was found; no brick, no pottery shreds, no animal bones. On the other hand, it also did not show evidence of a water castle.

While the original drawings by Hildernisse were lost, a 1729 copy shows a motte (see picture). This copy also has the outer bailey walls correct, and is therefore rather credible. Furthermore, the relatively small known remains of the 13th century castle border this motte. Renaud noted that if there was ever a place for further archaeological investigations, it would be the 'motte' of Zandenburg.

In 1983 Verwey published extensive research on the location and depictions of Zandenburg. He said that the two known contemporary depictions of Zandenburg do not depict a hill. The Panorma of Walcheren, attributed to Anton van den Wyngaerde rather accurately depicts the castle, but no hill on the north side of the castle. The other depiction of the castle is on the Veere maps by Van Deventer. The Madrid version of the Veere map clearly shows a rectangular castle and no hill. On the contrary, the Eekhoff version is less clear and might show a round structure resembling a round water castle. Verwey also noted that in 1551, when the castle was still intact, the historian Reygersberg, who lived in Veere wrote: en neffens der oud sale van Zandenburch ziet men noch hedentendage eenen hoghen Zandbergh liggende. (and next to the old hall of Zandenburg one can today still see a high sand hill). Renaud probably missed the observation by Reygersberg. However, he noted that out of fear for the Spanish the inhabitants of Veere demolished a lot at Zandenburg, and that they would certainly have levelled a high hill close to the city walls.

Apart from the hill, the only other known remains of the early castle consisted of a few stretches of wall excavated in 1955. These dated from the 13th century, and were made from red bricks measuring 30 * 15 * 8 cm. These small remains are in line with the accepted theory that the first Zandenburg was built by Wolfert van Borselen in about 1280.

The big square castle and its huge outer bailey date from the second half of the 15th century. This is the castle depicted on the (reconstruction) drawings and the floor plan of the excavations. These look glorious, and are mostly in line with archaeological evidence. Two aspects are relevant for history: How rich was Zandenburg, and what was the military value of the castle? The archaeological evidence sheds some light on this.

In 1955 almost the whole eastern half of the main castle was excavated. The excavations showed a large square castle. Unlike the 18th century pictures, the walls of the castle did not meet at 90 degree angles. The walls near the eastern corner tower had parallel inside walls at about 2 m distance. These probably had to do with the defensive functions of the castle.

On the northern corner of the main castle was a tower house with walls of about 2 meter thick at the base. The report of the excavations did not date the tower house differently from the rest of the main castle.

On the courtyard, or rather below it, was a dome for harvesting rainwater. It was made of small 19 cm long brick, and therefore a later addition to the castle. It had two thin circular walls with a layer of loam in between. The bottom and the inside were plastered. The dome was about 2–3 m high.

The huge outer bailey was 150 m long. The limited excavations did not show the gate buildings on the outer bailey. However, these are known from 18th and 19th century pictures, and are known to have been demolished in 1812. A heavy fragment on the east side was probably the only remnant of the eastern gatehouse.

On the southwest corner of the outer bailey, the foundations of a significant building were found. These were made of re-used 13th century brick, mixed with smaller bricks. Accounts indicate the presence of a wall with arcs and a chemin de ronde on the outer bailey. It's not known how much of the outer bailey was protected by such walls.

About 250 m south of the castle, the half-circle choir of the castle chapel was found. Hildernisse probably missed this structure, because later reconstructions showed a large square church building, which had nothing to do with what the archaeologists found.

The outside of the main castle foundations was covered with light-gray stone. This is a sign of wealth, and so is the size of the main castle and of the outer bailey, and the presence of a separate chapel. The above shows that the square castle was not only the seat of a wealthy lord, but was also very defendable.