Discover the rich history of Kasteel Oost, an ancient estate that is being brought back to life as Koonings The Wedding Castle
With her first establishment Koonings The Wedding Palace in Deurne, Ramona not only fulfilled her own dream of a palatial bridal store, but has since been fulfilling the dreams of thousands of brides every year. However, the desire to have her own real castle never left her. In 2023, she fulfilled that dream with Kasteel Oost: Koonings The Wedding Castle.
Want to know more about Ramona and Koonings? Watch the documentary here
Kasteel Oost: A place full of history
Kasteel Oost’s official date of construction is 1836. But its eventful history dates back to 1563. It was then, as an estate, that the castle was first mentioned in documents in connection with planned renovation and rebuilding work. During the first documented sale in 1587, it was first called Kasteel Oost – the name it still bears today.
Kasteel Oost looks back on centuries of eventful history. A magnificent building always owned by wealthy noble families in which high-ranking personalities came and went. In its heyday in 1626, Kasteel Oost was a place where magnificent feasts took place for days and high society met. Over the centuries, the castle has experienced an eventful history of inheritances and various transfers of ownership, which always took place within the high nobility. However, they all had one thing in common: the attachment and love for Castle Oost and its lands.
Starting in 1830, the Belgian owner and Jonkheer de Pité had a particular influence, whose structural measures significantly influenced the current architecture of Kasteel Oost. Among other things, he had the west wing extended to its present size, gave the exterior walls their present ochre yellow color and had the coat of arms integrated into the gable of the front roof, which still adorns the entrance today. In doing so, he gave the castle its neoclassical style, which has been preserved to this day.
Without knowing it, he was already one of the last private and aristocratic owners of the property. De Pité’s daughter Alide and later Baroness von Schrader and her daughter Helene, later Wolff Metternich, as the names suggest, both married men of German descent. Given the historical developments at the time, this was reason enough for the Netherlands at the beginning of World War II to confiscate the property as enemy property and exploit it as state property from then on.
Although initial ideas arose in the early 1940s to convert the property into a casino with hotel and tea garden, they could not be implemented due to the German occupation.
After the end of the war, from 1946, Kasteel Oost was given a new purpose by the then Agricultural School Valkenburg, which in turn also had a strong influence on the layout and use of the property. Extensive renovation and electrical works, the spatial redesign of the upper floor of the main building and the construction of apartments in the west wing were carried out in 1957, leading to a complete change in the use of the palace. Over 422 peasants were educated for about 25 years before the school closed due to economic restructuring measures. Many years followed in which the castle underwent extensive restoration work, but remained vacant without use.
From 1978, the castle on the lower floor experienced a new revival by the municipality of Valkenburg itself, when they decided to build a “romantic wedding palace” here, in which the first couple exchanged wedding vows on August 26, 1978. One that would be followed by dozens of others and will return to Koonings The Wedding Castle in the future.
Writing fairy tales
Because in 2023 Ramona Koonings, owner of Koonings The Wedding Palace, got the chance to participate in the tender for the sale of Kasteel Oost and finally make her long cherished dream come true and open a wedding castle. With a comprehensive and lovingly developed total concept for this unique property, she wins the tender and becomes the owner of Kasteel Oost in 2024. This lays the foundation for Koonings The Wedding Castle.
A place that goes far beyond the search for a wedding dress. The estate, which totals over 35,000 square meters, will house a second bridal store, a men’s and children’s fashion boutique for festive evening wear, two restaurants, a hotel and a wedding hall. In addition, the ensemble will be expanded with an orangery and a ballroom, so Koonings The Wedding Castle will also be available in the future as an event venue for celebrating weddings and other lavish parties.