De Voorst castle grounds - Zwolle

The construction of the castle consisted of an oval main castle measuring 48 by 44 metres, surrounded by a two-metre-thick wall. No remains of buildings were found within these walls, presumably due to centuries of levelling. The main castle was connected to an outer castle measuring 57 by 22 metres, separated by an eight-metre-wide moat. No traces of habitation were found here either. Surrounding the castle was a wide moat of 22 to 40 metres, reinforced by a system of several ditches.

In the 13th and 14th centuries, this was the residence of the lords of Voorst. During that time, the castle was attacked several times. Indeed, the lords of Voorst opposed the bishop of Utrecht and terrorised the local population, leading to a military intervention in 1362. A coalition of towns captured the outer castle after three days, but it took another 15 weeks before the entire castle was taken. The robber knights only surrendered when they were bombarded with dirt and rotting corpses.

The castle was then razed to the ground. Archaeological research in 1981-1982 revealed that the walls had been almost completely excavated for stone extraction in the 19th century.

The contours of the 13th-century moat system can be experienced in the park. There is an information board. Near the petting zoo is a wooden play castle decorated with the arms of the family Van Voorst.