Muiden - Muiderslot

Muiden's principal attraction is the Muiderslot, a moated castle built by Count Floris V in 1280 on the estuary of the Vecht in order to assert his authority in the eastern part of his domains. After his death (1296) the Bishop of Utrecht took the castle by storm and reduced it to ruins. In 1370 a new castle was built on the site, and this was the residence until 1795 of a succession of castellans wielding judicial authority. The castle knew quieter times between 1609 and 1674, when it was occupied by the writer Pieter Cornelisz Hooft, who formed a circle of artists and scholars, the "Muiderkring". His best known guests were Joost van den Vondel and Constantijn Huygens. Since 1875 the Muiderslot (restored between 1885 and 1909 and again in 1955) has been a national museum. It retains its original 16th and 17th century appointments and contains a collection of mementos of Pieter Hooft. Also of interest are the herb garden (with 400 culinary herbs) and the plum garden.