Het Gebroken Slot — the White Lady of Grubbenvorst

OVERVIEW

Het Gebroken Slot (the Broken Castle) is the name of the castle of Grubbenvorst, also called Burcht Grebben; the name has referred for centuries to its ruined state. The motte castle dates from about 1300 and lies on the road from Blerick to Grubbenvorst, on a raised mound by the Maas and the Everlose Beek, which gave it a natural moat.

HISTORY

It is first recorded in 1311, when Willem van Millen surrendered his house 'Gribben' as an open house to the Count of Gelre. It passed to the counts Van den Bergh, who sold it in 1386; to Dirk Schenck van Nijdeggen in 1645; then to the Van Hoensbroeck family, and from 1848 through other private owners to the Van den Hombergh family, owners since 2013. It was destroyed twice: in 1511 by the Scottish troops of Maximilian of Austria, and in 1586 by the troops of the Duke of Parma; it was never rebuilt. In 1944 the departing Germans blew up the positions they had dug into the mound, destroying most of what was left. Only a few fragments now stand on the motte.

REPORTED ACTIVITY

The Dutch Wikipedia article on haunted houses lists the ruin of Burcht Grebben at Grubbenvorst, known as the Gebroken Slot, 'where the White Lady haunts'; the Dutch article on witte wieven lists 'the white maiden of the Broken Castle of Grubbenvorst' among the country's white ladies.

VISITING

The Gebroken Slot is not open to the public.