The last route, part two of Limburg, is really overcrowded with castles and other beautiful things. So it will be another day of making choices, where to stop and where not to. You start in a big place with a big castle. And in the first 11 km you get two more castles.

Hoensbroek Castle, Klinkertstraat 118, 6433 PB Hoensbroek
Hoensbroek Castle or Gebrookhoes is one of the largest castles in the Netherlands. The oldest part of the castle, especially the high round tower, dates from around 1360, when Herman Hoen renovated it. In 1225 there was already a forerunner in this swamp, a so-called motte castle. In 1250 a fortified house was built on the site of the present castle. Because of its very strategic location for Limburg on the important trade routes to Maastricht, Aachen and Cologne, the castle was expanded in successive phases into the largest fortress between the Maas and Rhine. It contains 67 halls, rooms and spaces.

Amstenrade Castle, Hagendorenweg 1, 6436 CR Amstenrade
The first mention of Amstenrade dates from a deed from 1271. In the late 12th and early 13th century, there is the first mention of a castle belonging to the Heren Van Amstenraedt, presumably founded by the De Vrien family. The original castle, built by Huyn van Amstenraedt, was a fortress with three round towers and one square tower. Remains of this square tower are still present in the current square tower, built around 1609. The estate is now used as a B&B.

Doenrade Castle, Limpensweg 20, 6439 BE Doenrade
The castle is first mentioned in 1170. It is one of the oldest castles in Limburg. In earlier years this castle was a castle with moats around it. Doenrade Castle stood empty from 1987 to 1991. In 1991, the renovation and renovation of the castle started. On May 1, 1993, the castle opened as Hotel & Restaurant Kasteel Doenrade.

After driving less than 18 km, you will see a Gasterij Kasteel sign.

Terborgh Castle, Heisterbrug 119, 6365 CC Schinnen
Terborgh Castle, also known as Huis Schinnen, is located in the valley of the Geleenbeek near the hamlet of Heisterbrug, part of the Dutch Limburg municipality of Beekdaelen. The castle and the adjacent watermill are each a national monument. Some of the buildings are used as holiday apartments. Gasterij Terborgh is now housed in the old castle farm.

Between 28 and 34 km of the route, three more castles!

Wijnandsrade Castle, Opfergeltstraat 2, 6363 BW Wijnandsrade
The current castle is a partially moated building consisting of three wings around a courtyard. The oldest part is the west wing, an original defensible house built in the years 1554 to 1563. The south wing and the east wing were built between 1717 and 1719. Behind the castle is the Wijnandsrade motte, surrounded by the castle moat. The original castle, probably a weather tower, once stood on this artificial hill. It was founded in the 13th century, but had to be abandoned when its defensive function was lost due to the invention of gunpowder.

Rivers Castle, Retersbekerweg 6343 PH Climbing
Rivieren Castle is one of the four castles of the municipality of Voerendaal. The others are Haeren Castle, Cortenbach Castle, Puth Castle. Rivieren Castle or Ter Vieren Castle is first mentioned in 1364, when it was probably founded by Catharina van Rivieren, prioress of the Sint-Gerlach monastery in Houthem. The original function of the building was a monastery. The estate/grounds have limited access to the public. You can only walk on the open hiking trails of the estate, which are clearly marked with signs.

Puth Castle, Steinweg 1, 6367 GM Voerendaal
The current castle dates partly from the 16th, partly from the 17th and 18th centuries. Some cellars may be older. The castle is already mentioned in documents from the 14th century. From 2001, in the
castle farm established an organic farm. The castle was sold in 2011 and has since been gradually restored, especially the subsided foundations requiring major investments. In 2016 the monumental western barn was restored

After more than 43 km just before Valkenburg two castles separated by a river.

Genhoes Castle, Oud Valkenburg 17-C, 6305 AA Schin op Geul
Castle Genhoes was originally a medieval castle, but whether the history of the castle can actually be traced back to the 11th or 12th century cannot be proven with certainty for the time being, although a deed of Emperor Henry III from 1041 mentions the 'villa Falchenberg'. The first fixed date in the history of Oud-Valkenburg is the year 1381, when Johan van Hulsberg and Johan van Aldenvalckenborgh were mentioned as owners of the 'hof' Oud-Valkenburg. It is unclear whether this was a castle at the time. You can assume that the current castle is late medieval.

Schaloen Castle, Oud Valkenburg 9, 6305 AA Schin op Geul
The rectangular castle is built of marl and originally dates from the 12th century. Then it was slightly smaller. In the next century it was expanded, but in 1575 it almost completely burned down. On the map of Jacob van Deventer from 1550, the castle with the name Sloenes is clearly visible in its former form. In the middle is a residential tower with an extension as entrance. A wing has been added on two sides. The turrets date from the 16th century. A wide moat surrounds it. The outbuildings now house a hotel and a brasserie, the castle cannot be visited from the inside.

You continue the route to Wittem for the next castle and within 12 km you will get two more.

Château Wittem, Wittemer Allee 3, 6286 AA Wittem
In 1220 Winand van Julemont bought the site of the later Wittem castle of the St. Jacob abbey in Liège. The Julemonts were a family from the area east of Liège. When they acquired Wittem, they expanded it with a large stone tower near the Sinselbeek. Wittem Castle was once much larger than it is today and had seven towers. The castle is now a hotel restaurant.

Nijswiller Castle, Kolmonderstraat 18, 6286 CE Wittem
The current castle includes a main building, the actual castle, and a nederhof. The castle has a large square residential tower with an east wing attached to it. On a corner of the wing, adjacent to the residential tower, is an octagonal staircase tower from the 16th century. The castle has been privately owned since 2008.

Vaalsbroek Castle, Vaalsbroek 1, 6291 NH Vaals
The castle is a U-shaped mansion whose two-storey middle wing with basement has a double landing staircase to the 1st floor and a hipped roof with a small bell tower in the middle. This central wing is flanked by the two lower, perpendicular side wings. The three wings enclose a forecourt closed by a fence in stone pillars. The oldest mention of the castle dates back to 1420, when it was the seat of the lords of Vaelsbroich. The name was then derived from the words Vallis (valley) and Broich or Broek (swamp). In this early period, many Limburg family names were associated with the castle. Today, the castle and estate are part of the Bilderberg hotel chain.

Then you get a 20 km route to the next castle with nice steering (Mergelland route*). The castle is located in Mheer, but you have to know it because a wall and trees completely hide it from view. And the courtyard is not always accessible to the public, in that case only drive 9 km to Eijsden, where there is also a castle.
*Part of the Mergelland route is closed to motorbikes at the weekend!

Mheer Castle, Dorpsstraat 6, 6261 NJ Mheer
The castle is located directly behind Saint Lambert's Church in the village and a driveway leads past the church to the castle. The castle complex consists of a four-winged castle and a U-shaped lower court. The four wings of the castle surround a small courtyard, reached by a footbridge over a dry moat and leading to an entrance gate in the south wing. The west wing, which houses a hall, is the oldest and dates from the early 14th century. The north wing was built at the end of the 14th century, while the east wing with the large round tower was added in the 15th century. However, that round tower stands on foundations that are much older, probably from the late 11th century. Finally, the concluding south wing, with an arcade on the inside on blue stone columns, which was built around 1570.

Castle Eijsden, Graaf de Geloeslaan 8, 6245 AS Eijsden
Kasteel Eijsden is a mansion with a castle farm and is located south of Eijsden, on the river Maas. Before the current castle was built in 1636, there was already a fortified house called the Caestertburg. The original client was Arnold de Lamargelle. The castle remained in his family for a long time, but was inherited to a Count Van Hoensbroek and then came into the hands of Hubert de Geloes. Eijsden is a particularly beautiful castle, built in the Maasland Renaissance style. The castle is privately owned, but the park, built around 1900, is freely accessible.

After Eijsden you get 42 km route to the north without encountering a castle. In Elsloo and Stein you will encounter the last two of this route, which continues until Café Terras De Sjloes in Born.

Elsloo Castle, Maasberg 1, 6181 GV Elsloo
The castle is the continuation of a complex of a former brewery with an indoor water mill and a farm with barns and stables, located halfway the Maasberg. With the exception of the brewhouse, the current castle complex consists of the same parts. The brewhouse was converted into a residence in the 17th century, but was not rebuilt after several fires. The castle consists of a rectangular building, in which the water mill (Slakmolen) is included and the round indoor tower was added in later times. There is a botanical garden right next to the castle. The castle is operated as a hotel restaurant.

Stein Castle, Nederhof 25, 6171 HA Stein
The main castle or "Upper Castle" includes a motte-and-bailey castle on a natural elevation with a large marlstone keep from ca. 1200, called "White Tower". In the 13th century a polygonal ring wall was built around a courtyard. Only the barrel-vaulted cellars of a large hall with living quarters built against the ring wall remain. Only a few remains of a also 13th-century square gate tower on the north side of the castle. The so-called "Red Tower" and the well tower next to it were built by Jan van Heinsberg and date from about 1450. The outer castle or "Lower Castle" is located lower than the main castle. An intermediate moat was filled in around 1840. Only the marlstone foundations of the outer bailey remain. The tower-shaped entrance gate in the north wing is 16th century. The mansard helmet roof on the gate dates from about 1730 when the gate was also raised. The east wing is a two-storey neoclassical plastered country house, dating from 1840. The west wing, dating from ca. 1850, contains an equally neoclassical coach house with projecting corners. Both the east and west wings were commissioned by the Liège Grissard family. A park has been laid out outside the moat. The moat around the castle was originally fed by the Putbeek, which was fed by the Zonput. When the Zonput dried up, people switched to canal water to feed the canal. The castle estate used to include a windmill and a watermill.