Possibly around the year 1150, the lords of Sinderen built a castle and founded achapel in Sinderen. The chapel was used by the lord and by the local people. After about a hundred years, the village of Sinderen had established itself. The sturdy castle has since disappeared,but the frailChapel of St Anthony is still there.
Hidden history
The history of Sinderen Castle is shrouded in the mists of time. There are in fact, very few written sources and only a few unreliable illustrations. The precise year of construction is not known, and the same applies to the Chapel of St Anthony. The chapel provided a place of prayer for people in the hamlets ofGroot-Breedenbroek and Sinderen and the first chapel was made of wood. In 1660, it was struck by lightning and burnt down. Two years later, the chapel was rebuilt in brick as a small, single-nave church with Gothic arch windows.Zaalkerk met spitsboogvensters en een houten torentje op de westgevel Since then, a wooden bell frame with a bell has adorned its roof.
Sinderen Castle
The Sinderen estate once covered a large area of around 250 ha. Not much of the estate remains, as it was sold off in eleven separate plots. Sinderen Castle was sold in 1875 and demolished shortly afterwards. The reclaimed materials were used to build five large farms. Part of the moat is still visible alongKasteelweg road and the castle’s foundations lie underneath the D’n Huusboer farm.
Chapel
The chapel also functioned as the village school until 1853 with a small extension as school building on the eastern side. Sometimes people would even use the chapel for drying tobacco leaves and it has been home to Catholic and Protestant services. From 1770 onwards, the noble family of Sinderen Castle had a vault under the chapel for burying their dead. In later years, they were buried in the chapel´s graveyard. More recently, the graves of the Ruebel family have been restored and the chapel is now used for ceremonies, and maintained, by the village community. The village graveyard that was situated slightly further away from the chapel is now a meadow but the chapel bell still tolls when someone in Sinderen has passed away.
