Loevestein Castle is situated in a unique location where the river Meuse and Waal join together and the provinces of Gelderland, Brabant and South Holland meet. It was here, in this typically Dutch river landscape, that the knight Dirc Loef van Horne built his castle in 1360. His choice, however, was not determined by the area's outstanding beauty, but by its strategic position. It was the ideal location to defend and from which to levy tolls. Loevestein Castle subsequently served as a military stronghold, as the state prison from which Hugo Grotius escaped in a book chest, and as part of the Dutch Waterline. Thanks to its military past, the area surrounding Loevestein Castle is one of the least spoilt cultural landscapes in the Netherlands and a unique spot where nature and culture unite as one.