This summer, experience history at Slot Loevestein

Run across the fortifications, try your hand at archery like a castle archer, take part in jousting tournaments and discover how children used to spend their free time. During the summer holidays, Slot Loevestein is transformed into one big play fortress where history comes to leven . From 4 July to 30 August, everything revolves around spelen through the ages.

Spelen connects generations. That’s why this summer we’re combining familiar crowd-pleasers with new stories and activities centred on the theme Spelen through the ages’. As a result, visitors not only discover how children used to live at Loevestein, but they experience it for themselves too,” says Jenny Doest, director of Slot Loevestein. “Children learn here through play, whilst parents and grandparents often recognise a surprising amount from their own childhoods.”

spelen and discovering for themselves
For centuries, families with children lived at Loevestein. They went to school there, helped out with daily leven and, of course, made time for fun too. Archaeological finds show that children have been playing within the walls of Loevestein for centuries. These traces from the past are the inspiration for many of this summer’s activities. Visitors can discover how children used to entertain themselves and, above all, get involved themselves. Activities for young and old alike can be found throughout the grounds. Challenge your parents and grandparents to some traditional Dutch games, decorate your own spinning top, learn to shoot a musket and discover how the fortress used to be defended using water. Take a moment to relax with a tasty treat whilst playing a game of Ganzenbord or Connect 4, then head off together to the next adventure.

Holiday story: Spelen through the ages
Building a Lego castle, playing a game of Ludo or gaming on a tablet: today’s children have plenty of choice. But what was it really like in the old days?

During the holiday story Spelen Through the Centuries’, the guides at Slot Loevestein take visitors back to a time when children, without toy shops or screens, found their own ways to have fun. Through stories, artefacts and finds from the castle, visitors discover what everyday leven was like for children in the past. The holiday story and Hugo de Groot’s escape story are told several times a day.

Extra activities during the holidays
During the holiday weekends, the stories of Loevestein literally come to leven. Visitors meet knights, archers and other inhabitants from days gone by. There are medieval encampments, archery lessons from the castle archer, a school of chivalry, a live game of Stratego, shadow theatre and treasure hunts. This makes a visit to Slot Loevestein this summer an adventure in which history is not just told, but, above all, experienced first-hand.

Practical information
Slot Loevestein is open daily from 10.00 to 17.00 during the summer holidays, from 4 July to 30 August. Tickets are available via the website and at the ticket office. Admission is free with the Museum Card and the VriendenLoterij VIP card. All additional summer activities are included with a standard ticket. For more information and the full programme, visit https://www.slotloevestein.nl/agenda/zomervakantie/.