The ruins of the Huis ter Kleef castle are located in the city gardens of Haarlem

Haarlem

Haarlem is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland, the northern half of Holland, which at one time was the most powerful of the seven provinces of the Dutch Republic...

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History

The castle is located about halfway between the Castle Brederode

Castle Brederode

Castle Brederode, also called the Ruïns of Brederode, is located near Santpoort-Zuid.The castle was founded in the second half of the 13th century by William I van Brederode . William was a descendant of the lords van Teylingen, who were related to the counts of Holland...

 and the Haarlem City Hall, which were built respectively in the second half of the 13th century and 1370, and probably dates from that period, when it is referred to as Huis te Schoten. Situated a mile and a half from Haarlem center, in those days it was situated in the middle of a town called Schoten. In 1403 it was given to Margaret of Cleves (c.1375-1411)

Margaret of Cleves (c.1375-1411)

Margaret of Cleves was a German noblewoman. A daughter of Adolph III, Count of Mark and Margaret of Jülich , in 1394 she became the second wife of Albert I, Duke of Bavaria, though the marriage remained childless. The couple held court in The Hague....

, and has since retained that name.

During the Siege of Haarlem

Siege of Haarlem

The siege of Haarlem was an episode of the Eighty Years' War. From December 11, 1572 to July 13, 1573 an army of Philip II of Spain laid bloody siege to the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands, whose loyalties had begun wavering during the previous summer...

 in 1572 it was the headquarters of the Spanish army, under the leadership of the duke of Alva. Badly damaged, the rubble was used for city expansion, and the property changed hands several times until it was purchased by the city of Haarlem in 1713. Stones from the ruin can still be seen in surrounding buildings. The house nearby with a tower called the Kaatsbaan was used as a residence for former owners and is now also in use by the city gardens.