Ilpenstein

Ilpenstein is a 17th century castle in Ilpendam in the Waterland region north of Amsterdam. The building featured a fortified central gate and sat within a surrounding water moat that provided protection.

Volkert Overlander commissioned the building of Ilpenstein in 1622, constructing it on an earthwork that Spanish forces had created during the Eighty Years' War. The location took advantage of military structures already in place from that earlier conflict.

Frans Banning Cocq, shown as the captain in Rembrandt's painting The Night Watch, gained ownership of the castle through marriage to Maria Overlander van Purmerland. The family used it as a home that displayed their standing in the local community.

The site lay in wetland surroundings that made access difficult, and this watery landscape remains visible today in the flat terrain of the region. The area is defined by water and marshy ground, which shapes how you experience the location.

A silver spade from the castle's collection was used by Jacob de Graeff during the foundation stone ceremony for the Paleis op de Dam. This object connects the family's private story to an important civic building in Amsterdam.