Kasteel Amerongen

English translation

The text above is the record as published by the Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed, in Dutch. The English below is a machine translation made by TreeAlive, not by the Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed; it has not been checked by a person. Where the two differ, the original is the record. Report a translation error: privacy@treealive.com

Description

MAIN BUILDING. A large, approximately square, block-shaped brick country house of a gentleman, covered by three parallel hipped roofs crowned by corner chimneys and connected only at the front by transverse tie-beams, erected between 1674 and 1679 using some masonry from the castle destroyed by fire in 1673, in the 18th century and especially in the early twentieth century - as far as the internal fittings are concerned - somewhat altered and supplemented; externally of extremely austere, on the one hand subtle, on the other hand daringly functional architecture, expressed in the slight inclination of the masonry, the restriction of ornament and the refined finishing of the roof towards the front facade and the rough composition of the rear facade originally scarcely visible from the park.

Front facade of seven window bays, of which three are in a central risalit that is accentuated by a sandstone door surround with an overlying balcony furnished with a simple (in its current form dating from the early twentieth century) iron balustrade and above which the higher rising central roof is brought forward in accordance with the risalit relative to the tie-beam; in the roof on this side three roof dormers with pediments. Glazed entrance doors early twentieth century. North facade of seven window bays, in the fifth furnished with a sandstone balcony, resting on brick wall piers rising from the moat and terminating in sandstone consoles and accessible through a so-called window door (hinged wooden breastwork beneath the sash window); iron balcony railing. In the roof on this side two roof dormers with pediments. Rear facade with central risalit of four window bays but with the width of those on the front facade, and entirely blind side panels. South facade of six window bays, of which two in each of the side risalits, which are followed by the gutter line but not by the roof; in the fourth window bay a balcony like that in the north facade (both balconies terminate the transverse passage in the building). The windows of the front and side facades are furnished with sash windows with 18th-century glazing bars (installed after 1732); the rear facade has sash windows with a coarser glazing bar pattern.

The interior, furnished with a transverse passage on the main floor, a central staircase hall and an upper hall spanning two storeys with a vaulted ceiling, shows alongside components from the construction period, including painted ceilings in the entrance hall and staircase hall (1683, by Willem van Nimwegen), chimneypieces, a stucco ceiling with a central painted panel in the great hall and pilaster orders along the walls of the upper hall, some components from the 18th century and alterations and additions by P.J.H. Cuypers from the early 20th century; the latter include among others the wall panelling and ceiling in the dining room and the current marble and marbled execution of the pilasters as well as the painted decoration of the ceiling in the upper hall.

A single-manual house organ, made by J. Batz from Utrecht in 1813, with 8 registers. The instrument is placed in the central reception hall on the first floor of the castle.

In the bell tower above the stables a mechanical tower clock with striking bell, manufactured in 1927 by Eijsbouts.