Wilhelm van Haersolte

Anyone delving into the history of the Lordship of Bredevoort will inevitably come across the name Wilhelm van Haersolte tot Elsen. His name is forever linked to one of the most devastating disasters to strike the Achterhoek in the seventeenth century. As an administrator and military officer, he was at the helm of the region during a time of political tension, but it was a natural phenomenon that abruptly ended his life and that of his family.

Wilhelm van Haersolte was born in Zwolle around the year 1596, the son of Harmen van Haersolte and Anna van Hoeclum. He descended from a prominent noble family from Overijssel and, as was customary in those circles, chose a military career. As an infantry captain, he served in the States Army, the armed forces of the young Republic of the Seven United Provinces.

On 2 February 1630, he married Catharina van Brakel. The couple had a large family; the surviving records name, amongst others, Anthonie, Gerrit, Assuerus, Arent and Lodwich. Later genealogical accounts differ over the precise total number of children. In 1638 Wilhelm and Catharina purchased the Elsen manor (havezate), from which the addition ‘tot Elsen’ to his name is derived.

His bond with the Achterhoek was sealed in 1637. Following the death of his older brother, Arent van Haersolte, Wilhelm was granted the honourable and responsible position of drost (bailiff) and richter (judge) of the Lordship of Bredevoort. This meant that he held both the military command over the fortified town and the civil and judicial administration over the surrounding area, which at the time also included Aalten, Winterswijk and Dinxperlo. For his new role, Van Haersolte and his family moved into the imposing castle of Bredevoort.

Fate on a summer’s day

For nine years, Van Haersolte governed the region with a firm hand. The end of his term of office — and his life — came entirely unexpectedly, however, on 12 July 1646. That day, a severe thunderstorm swept across the Achterhoek. A fierce lightning strike hit the castle’s gunpowder tower, where vast quantities of gunpowder were stored at the time for the defence of the border region.

The ensuing explosion was catastrophic. The castle was largely destroyed and the town also suffered severe damage. According to a historical publication from 1807, approximately forty people lost their lives in this Gunpowder Tower Disaster (Kruittorenramp). The victims included Wilhelm van Haersolte, his wife Catharina and several of their children.

Following this tragic death, Wilhelm was succeeded as bailiff of the Lordship of Bredevoort by Georg Nicolaas van der Lawick.

The family’s legacy

The disaster struck the Van Haersolte family exceptionally hard. Their son Anthonie survived because he was not in Bredevoort that day. He continued this branch of the family.

Although the castle was never rebuilt to its former glory, the traces of Wilhelm van Haersolte are still tangible in the region. In the Sint-Joriskerk (St George’s Church) in Bredevoort is a fire bell that he donated to the community in 1644. In addition, during restoration work in the church, the historical tombstones of the bailiff and his family members were rediscovered and restored to a place of honour, keeping the memory of this fatal history alive for the residents of the former Lordship of Bredevoort.