The ancient Batavian settlement near the Dutch city of Nijmegen (Nimwegen) was called Oppidum Batavorum by the Romans until the Roman emperor Traian granted the right to hold a market in 104 AD, after which it was called Ulpia Noviomagus (the new market).
The Romans built a castle (Castellum) on the hill. Frankish rulers reigned over this area after the departure of the Romans in the fifth century, first the Merovingians and then the Carolingian dynasty. Charlemagne (738-814) visited the city several times and built a royal palace (Paltz) on the hill.
This palace was destroyed by the Vikings (880) and Lotharingian knights (1047), but rebuilt by the Salic Emperor Barbarossa (1122-1190) around 1155. The ruin of St. Martin´s Chapel is the only visible remnant of this castle nowadays.
The castle was named Valkhof and survived six centuries and many wars, but not the decision of the States of Guelders to demolish the (neglected) castle for financial reasons in 1795.
France had occupied the Dutch provinces, and (neglected) castles no longer seemed helpful, but rather an expensive burden. The castle was destroyed, but not the St. Nicholas Chapel, however. This chapel was built around 1030 and is the oldest building on the Valkhof Hill.
The original architecture was Romanesque, but around 1400, the chapel was partly rebuilt in Gothic style. The frescoes on the ceiling were painted in 1570 when Anna of Austria (1549-1580), wife of Philip II of Spain (1527-1598), visited the city and the chapel.
The chapel also survived the Reformation of 1578 and even the Second World War, when the city became a target of an erroneous Allied bombardment in February 1944 and a frontline town in September 1944.
The chapel is open to the public and information is available in English, German, French and Dutch.
(Source and further information: www.valkhof.nl).