The Knights’ Hall

The beating heart of the castle

If there is one part of the castle that should be called its beating heart, it would be the Knights’ Hall or Ridderzaal. It is a space with an ambiance of both grandeur and intimacy. This is where medieval lords received their guests. Try to imagine what it must have been like. The light of the burning hearth reflecting off the whitewashed walls. A place that saw celebrations, where people also slept. A place where people enjoyed themselves and witnessed their lord sit in judgment. Where the local government of the bailiff and reeve of Muiden and Gooiland had its seat. Where even today you are immersed in the 17th century, surrounded by paintings and Delft blue tiling. It is also the great hall where P.C. Hooft received his friends and acquaintances and made music, read poetry, and conversed. The Knights’ Hall provided a place of refuge where they could exchange ideas. The source of the mythical Muiderkring. And the theater that witnessed the opening night of Hooft’s tragedy Isabella in the presence of Prince Maurits on 29 September 1618. A space that became intertwined with the theater community of Amsterdam, the oldest theater in the Netherlands.

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The Knights’ Hall