Kasteel Biljoen

The construction of Kasteel Biljoen began around 1530 under Charles of Egmond, Duke of Guelders. Materials from the nearby Kasteel Overhagen were partly used for its construction. Due to financial difficulties, the Duke sold the estate in 1535 to his steward Roelof van Lennep, in whose family it remained for over 126 years. In 1661, the castle became the property of Alexander von Spaen, who transformed the central building into its current square shape with four corner towers and baroque domes. He also expanded the estate and replaced the original portal with a projecting central section featuring a tympanum. A notable episode was its use as headquarters by French King Louis XIV in 1672, which saved Biljoen from destruction by French troops. After further changes of ownership within the Spaen family, who held the estate until 1848, it was acquired by Baron van Hardenbroek in 1848 and later sold to the German industrialist J.H. Willem Lüps. The Lüps family maintained the castle and its lands for over 139 years until it was acquired by the current foundations in 2008.

Kasteel Biljoen is located in Velp, in the Gelderland district, in the Oost-Nederland region of the Netherlands. It stands at an elevation of approximately 14 meters above sea level.

Kasteel Biljoen is currently privately owned and managed by the Foundation of Friends of Gelders Castles and the Het Geldersch Landschap Foundation. The castle is in good condition and represents an important architectural monument.

• Huis te Lathum (manor house and estate), approx. 2.4 km away
• Huis Magerhorst (manor house and estate), approx. 5.2 km away
• Huis Sonsbeek (manor house and estate), approx. 6.1 km away
• Kasteel Zypendaal (castle), approx. 6.9 km away