Ruin of Hemmen House

This ruin is of the House Hemmen destroyed in World War II. A castle stood here for centuries. Hemmen castle was one of the most beautiful and impressive castles in Gelderland, but was destroyed by fire and demolished in the first half of the 18th century. From 1750 to 1757, Huis Hemmen was built by Frans Godard van Lynden on the same foundations. Huis Hemmen took on the appearance of a large country house, influenced by friends who lived in modern country houses on the Vecht.

From the 9th century, Hemmen belonged to the Van Doornick's knights. Elisabeth van Doornick married knight Steven van Lynden in 1360, as a result of which the Heerlijkheid Hemmen passed into the Van Lynden family.

The last lord of Hemmen was baron Frans Godard van Lynden van Hemmen. In 1926, he founded the Lijndensche Fonds voor Kerk en Zending Foundation. The deed was passed in 1926 and went into effect on the day of the death of the Baron and last lord of Hemmen. baron Frans Godard van Lynden van Hemmen died childless in 1931, making this branch of the Van Lynden family extinct. After his death, the Hemmen House belonged to the Lijndensche Fonds and was a conference centre until 1944. Missionaries, who were on leave in the Netherlands, could stay there and overworked ministers could unwind there. In 1942, evacuees (people brought to safety) found shelter here.

In September 1944, villages in the Betuwe were damaged and destroyed by the war. Hemmen suffered particularly badly in the final stage of the war. All the population had to evacuate. After the British withdrew, the Germans occupied the village and turned the castle into a heavily armed fortress. The Germans fired from Wageningen Mountain at the British and Canadians, who were south of the Linge. The Allied forces managed to set House Hemmen on fire, causing the Germans to flee via the moat and Linge towards the Rhine. The house was then further destroyed to prevent it from being used as a German base of operations again Most of the Van Lyndens' possessions were lost.

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Source

• Text: Robert Groenhuis
• Photos: Robert Groenhuis