The city of Dillenburg has a lot of links with House of Orange-Nassau and the Wilhelmsturm is a testament to those links. The original Dillenburg Castle was destroyed in 1760. It had been the home of William the Silent’s parents Juliana of Stolberg and William the Rich. William was born at the Castle and some of his daughters grew up there. His sister-in-law, Elisabeth of Leuchtenberg died there in 1579 as did her successor in 1586.
Over 100 years later, one of William the Silent’s descendants, Princess Marianne of the Netherlands funded the building of the Wilhelmsturm. It currently houses the Orange-Nassau Museum and some of the foundations still date from the older castle.
The museum is quite a climb and all the different levels have a different story to tell. I quite liked all the portraits and the very top floor also has a little video on Princess Marianne. The view is also well worth the climb! The entrance fee is very reasonable at 4 Euro.
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