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Huis Bergh: Reopening of the Netherlands' Largest Water Castle

Historic view of Kasteel Huis Bergh and the church of 's-Heerenberg

On Thursday 17 September 2026, King Willem-Alexander will reopen Kasteel Huis Bergh in 's-Heerenberg after a nearly three-year restoration, striking a commemorative coin with a historic screw press to mark the occasion. Two days later, on 19 September, the castle fully reopens to the public. For the Netherlands' largest water castle, with almost 900 years of history, it is the start of a new chapter.

A Castle at the Heart of the City

Huis Bergh is the ancestral seat (stamslot) of the counts van den Bergh, whose domain — the Land van den Bergh — became an imperial county in 1486. The counts served as advisors to the Duke of Gelre and were related to the House of Orange-Nassau; Willem IV van den Bergh played a notable role in the Eighty Years' War, with members of the family fighting on both sides of the conflict.

Uniquely, Huis Bergh is the only surviving castle in the Netherlands that still lies within the old city walls. When Willem I van den Bergh granted city rights to 's-Heerenberg in 1379, he cemented a bond between castle and town that is still visible today in monuments such as the 15th-century Raethuys. The castle was inhabited continuously from the 12th to the 20th century, though its current buildings mostly date from the 14th, 15th and 17th centuries.

Fire, Fortune and a Generous Buyer

The castle's history is marked by disaster and revival. In 1735 the main stronghold burned down completely and was rebuilt by 1746. Between 1799 and 1842 it housed a Catholic seminary. In 1912 the castle was bought by Jan Herman van Heek, a textile industrialist from Enschede, who wanted to preserve it as a monument. It was a wise move: in 1939 a second great fire devastated the main building. Local residents helped save much of the inventory, and the reconstruction was completed by 1941. In 1946 Van Heek placed the castle, its collection and the estate in the Stichting Huis Bergh foundation, which still manages it today.

A Private Treasure Trove

Van Heek also brought his art collection to the castle, including the F.W. Mengelberg collection he acquired in 1919 and a remarkable group of early Italian works — today the largest private collection of early Italian art in the Netherlands, with pieces attributed to Duccio, Bicci di Lorenzo and Niccolò di Segna. One very special panel, the Archangel Gabriel from Duccio's world-famous Maestà, has been on display at the Rijksmuseum since 2023.

The collection also includes more than eighty Dutch and German paintings, works from the school of Jheronimus Bosch (including a Wedding at Cana), and the series of portraits of Burgundians, Habsburgs, Oranges and counts van den Bergh that Van Heek discovered in the castle attic. On top of that, Huis Bergh holds an exceptional collection of medieval manuscripts — among them a Book of Hours associated with Geert Grote — plus sculpture, coins, ivories, a scholarly art-historical library and the largest private archive on the history of Gelderland.

The 2023–2026 Restoration

The recent closure was triggered by subsidence in the foundations, but the restoration was used to do far more than stabilise the building: the castle was made sustainable, a new lift was installed, and more than 220 historic window shutters were restored and repainted, improving accessibility throughout. During the royal visit, the King will tour the cellar to learn about the restoration and sustainability work, then move through the central hall to the Throne Room and the Duccio Room, where he will be shown highlights of the Italian collection. He will also visit three halls on city history that will be on view for the first time.

From 19 September 2026 everyone is welcome again in the restored and redesigned castle. The reopening also marks the integration of the city museum Stadsmuseum Bergh, which closed on 1 July 2026: large parts of its collection and stories now live on at Huis Bergh, with the educational programmes continuing under the Heemkundekring Bergh. After three years behind scaffolding, the largest water castle in the Netherlands once again opens its gates — richer, greener and ready for the next nine centuries.

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