Castles and estates between Doorwerth and Arnhem

The first of the estates on this route is the moated castle Kasteel De Doorwerth. The castle was first mentioned in 1260. It still has a very medieval appearance. The castle was severely damaged during the Second World War and was subsequently completely restored. Now the Museum for Nature and Wildlife Management and the Museum Veluwezoom are located there. There is a monumental tree at the castle, a robinia, which is said to have been planted as early as 1579. It is the oldest copy in the Netherlands. The size of the trunk is seven meters. This castle is also interesting for fans of recurring ghost phenomena: the hunting hall in the north wing is said to be haunted by the ghost of a girl who once starved within the walls of the building.

You cycle along the riverbanks of the Lower Rhine to Arnhem. Zijpendaal Castle is located north of Arnhem. It was built in 1764 as a country estate by the Arnhem regent family Brantsen, on the spot where the old Zypendaal house once stood. The restored castle now has a cultural destination: the Geldersch Landschap Foundation and the Friends of Geldersche Castles Foundation are located there. The estate is freely accessible and the ground floor of the house is open to the public.

On this route you also cycle past the stately Groot Warnsborn Estate. It is not clear exactly how old the estate is, but it is first mentioned in 1428. The estate now houses a luxury hotel. Oorsprong estate in Oosterbeek is a hilly landscape on the Arnhem moraine: an area with forests, fields and water features. The country house that once stood there was destroyed during the Second World War. Tawny owls, stock doves and woodpeckers breed in the hollows of the oaks and beeches along the Italian road. They are also the habitat for bats.