Amerongen Castle is a castle in Amerongen, Utrechtse Heuvelrug, Netherlands. It was built between 1674 and 1680, on the site of a medieval castle that had been burned down by the French in 1673. The gardens still contain historic elements such as a conservatory dating from the 1890s. In 1918, the former German Kaiser Wilhelm II signed his abdication here and stayed till 1920, when he moved to Huis Doorn.
Amerongen Castle was built for Godard Adriaan van Reede (1621–1691).
Interior view of the laundry room in the basement, before preservation.
Amerongen Castle seen from the air (film still from video by Rijkswaterstaat)
Amerongen Castle and its surroundings (film still from video by Rijkswaterstaat)
The abdication of Wilhelm II as German Emperor and King of Prussia was declared by Chancellor Maximilian of Baden on 9 November 1918; it was formally affirmed by a written statement of Wilhelm on 28 November, made while in exile in Amerongen, the Netherlands. The abdication caused the German Empire to dissolve and concluded the House of Hohenzollern's 500-year rule over Prussia and its predecessor state, Brandenburg. Wilhelm reigned from 15 June 1888 to 9 November 1918. As a result of the abdication and the German Revolution of 1918–19, the nobility as a legally-defined class was abolished. Following the proclamation of the Weimar Constitution on 11 August 1919, all Germans were declared equal before the law. The rulers of the twenty-two constituent states of the Empire also had to relinquish their monarchical titles and domains.
German General Headquarters, 8 January 1917. Chief of the General Staff Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg and Wilhelm II with General Erich Ludendorff.
Placard for The Pall Mall Gazette, 26 June 1919
Reichskriegsflagge in use during the Kapp Putsch, to overthrow the Weimar Republic and establish a right-wing government, supported by monarchist factions, 13 March 1920
Monarchist DNVP leader Kuno von Westarp and DNVP member Prince Oskar of Prussia with Prince Eitel Friedrich. December 1924. Later, the nationalist DNVP and NSDAP (Nazi Party) were in a coalition government (1933-1945).