Holiday apartment in Renswoude: Castle Park and Grebbelinie

History

Renswoude officially has designated protected townscape and villagescape status, number 1428, in the province of Utrecht. The Grebbelinie is also part of the village’s historic character: Fort aan de Buursteeg in Renswoude is part of this chain of forts and line dikes between Rhenen and Spakenburg. The fort was built in 1786 at the point where Buursteeg and Slaperdijk crossed. Since 2018, a tunnel for pedestrians and cyclists has connected the two parts of the site.

The Grebbelinie Visitor Centre is located at Fort aan de Buursteeg. An interactive exhibition there presents the history of the Grebbelinie’s defences. The visitor centre in Renswoude is wheelchair accessible and has a lift to the exhibition on the first floor. Guided tours of the earth fort at Fort aan de Buursteeg are organised on request for schools, families and companies. The Grebbelounge restaurant is also located at the fort.

Culture

The surroundings of Renswoude Castle also combine freely accessible grounds with fixed opening times. Renswoude Castle Park is freely accessible to everyone. Renswoude Castle itself is open to the public on the first Tuesday of every month by prior appointment. The castle park contains old deciduous trees with an average age of 150 years. Many spring-flowering woodland plants grow on the forest floor, while adder’s tongue and wild fritillaries can be found along the moat. The park is rich in deer and birds.

Elements of the French Baroque and English landscape styles are still clearly recognisable in the design of the castle park. The historic Renswoude estate also includes a 700-metre-long water avenue, a Grand Canal dating from 1708. Nieuwe Buurt was created in the 18th century as an extension of Renswoude along Dorpsstraat, near the castle and the Koepelkerk dating from 1639.

The Oudheidkamer of the Oud-Renswoude Historical Association is located in an apartment at Dorpsstraat 38 in Nieuwe Buurt. The Oudheidkamer documents and displays the history of the village and the castle. Memorial sites from more recent times are also part of the villagescape: a resistance monument stands at the central roundabout in Renswoude, where wreaths and flowers are laid every year on 4 May. The white cross on Groeperkade between De Dennen restaurant and the De Engelaar defence site stands at the place where five people were shot on 14 November 1944. The Renswoude war memorial was unveiled in 1949 in memory of residents who died as victims of war, while in hiding or as members of the resistance.

Renswoude, Scherpenzeel and Woudenberg jointly organise Open Monument Day. It takes place every year on a Saturday in a different municipality.

History on the Move

Several trails connect the historic sites with the surrounding area. The Verkennersroute Renswoude is a 14-kilometre historic hiking trail with 40 information boards or marker posts. In terms of content, the route spans the Late Stone Age and the Golden Age, agricultural development and industrialisation in the 20th century, through to the present day. It can be divided into three sections: village, surrounding area and castle, measuring 5, 5 and 4 kilometres respectively.

The Grebbelinie Visitor Centre is connected to numerous hiking and cycling trails, allowing Fort aan de Buursteeg and the water defence line to be actively explored. Today, the Grebbelinie serves as an ecological zone in which numerous plants and animals can be found. The Breeschoterpad is a 6-kilometre circular hiking trail through the surrounding area of Renswoude and Scherpenzeel. It runs mainly along unpaved paths, farmland and historic routes.

The trails on the Daatselaarsepad also run mainly over unpaved surfaces; the route is not suitable for pushchairs or wheelchairs. The Jufferpad starts at TOP Fort aan de Buursteeg, where free parking is available. Alternatively, the route can be started at Veenendaal-de Klomp railway station. The Leughtenpad is approximately 1.5 kilometres long and freely accessible to everyone between sunrise and sunset.

Other places

Other place pages in the same area: Renswoude, Bunschoten, Veenendaal, Zeist, Rhenen, Loenen, Wijk Bij Duurstede, Soest.

To the overview of the wider region: Utrecht.