Valkenburg is in the Limburg region of The Netherlands which is south of us in a peninsula that extends down between Germany and Belgium. We went there so Jeff could do some cycling training. We were in search of some mountains, but they are extremely difficult to find in Holland, so we settled for the highest point in the country and then Jeff did several laps!
Jeff would like it pointed out that the grade of this climb is tougher than it looks. We had just missed the UCI cycling championships, so the roads were still decorated which I am sure was motivating.
The castle's history dates back to the early 12th Century. It has been attacked, destroyed and rebuilt by many over the years. The final destruction was in 1672 by Willem III in order that the castle not fall into the wrong (French) hands whom they were fighting at the time. It is amazing to me that this castle has existed in its current ruined state for just over 340 years! This is the history that you are surrounded by in Europe - it's easy to forget.
I don't know the significance of the weather vane, except that it is the tallest point of the castle which makes it the tallest structure in the Netherlands? What you cannot see is the Velvet Cave underneath the castle. We took a very interesting guided tour of the cave where we learned about how it was created by the stone cutters who cut the marl into blocks that were used to build the castle, town walls and later to rebuild many of the town's buildings.
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| Warrior slaying a dragon |
