Pictured: Dutch pensioner builds five-storey castle in his back garden
A 76-year-old Dutchman has single-handedly built a five-storey castle in his back garden, complete with knights, damsels, and a shimmering dragon fashioned from recycled metal.
The towers of the Olt Stoutenburght Castle (“Old Naughty Citadel”) rise unexpectedly from the flat fields around the tiny village of Blesdijke in the northern Dutch countryside.
Gerry Halman, who also goes by the name Lord Gregorious, has spent 34 years on his labour of love, painstakingly sourcing materials from dozens of countries, drawing inspiration from China, the Roman Empire, and ancient Egypt.
“One morning in 1990, I said to my wife, ‘I’m ready. I have a complete picture. I know what the building looks like, from the bottom to the flag’,” the mustachioed Mr Halman told AFP, resplendent in a jaunty fur hat.
Since then, constructing and furnishing the castle has been his “passion”, travelling all over the world to source materials that do justice to his vision.
‘I am a fan of the fantasy world, not the real world’
For 35 years, Halman ran a costume shop in nearby Zwolle and has populated his castle with a cast of characters including knights in shining armour, damsels in distress, and a statue of the Greek goddess Aphrodite.
What drives someone with no architectural or building experience to start such a project?
“What drives people to cycle for three weeks through France or go to the gym?” a good-natured Halman replied, describing the urge to create the castle as an “obligation”.
“I’ve always been a fan of the fantasy world since I was a kid, not the real world.”
But he ran up against the real world when he took his plans to the local authorities for planning permission.
“The mayor said: ‘He’s crazy. He is not a builder. He has no architecture experience and he wants to build a castle’.”
However, he eventually won planning permission after much back-and-forth with the authorities, so long as the castle was lower than 28 metres.
Like the Sagrada Familia basilica in Barcelona, the Olt Stoutenburght is “never finished”, he said.
Mr Halman’s wife of 50 years “likes” the project but “stays away,” he said. “I do my own thing... this is for me. We have the perfect marriage.”
