Kasteel Huis Bergh

Anyone visiting the town of 's-Heerenberg in Montferland awaits an overwhelming experience. Suddenly the view unfolds of the medieval castle Huis Bergh, surrounded by a moat and half enclosed by an old fortress wall. Its construction history dates back to the 13th century. The most important parts that still exist today date from the 14th, 15th and 17th centuries. Over time, extensions, embellishments, fires and wars have changed the look of the castle. It gradually turned from a medieval defensive castle into a beautiful castle. The oldest garden in the Netherlands As early as 1461, mention is made of a garden at Huis Bergh. This makes the garden of the castle the oldest known documented garden in the Netherlands, which has been preserved in outline and layout. The unique archive of Huis Bergh offers a wealth of information about the gardens. The mentions are about the gardeners and their tools, about fountains and garden statues, about purchases of seeds and flower pots, and about the many construction and maintenance activities in the garden. On the basis of fragments of text from the archive documents, an image is created of a garden that was an important part of the castle complex. The functions of the garden have hardly changed over the centuries: the garden had to be a pleasant place to spend time, hence the fountains, garden statues and beautiful flowers. But above all, the garden had to be useful and yield a harvest. So in the garden of the distinguished Van den Bergh counts there were not only special flowers, but also vegetables and fruit, for example: asparagus, artichoke, turnips and radishes, and melons, apples, pears, peaches and apricots. For a long time nothing of all this history has been visible. In 2007 for the first time plans were made to restore the old gardens. After an intensive process of research and refurbishment, the new castle garden of Kasteel Huis Bergh was opened this spring.