Kasteelruine Fluweelengrot Valkenburg logo

Privacy Statement

Important information about the Stichting Kasteel van Valkenburg
(Valkenburg Castle Foundation) website
Kasteelruine en Fluweelengrot in Valkenburg

Privacy Statement

Valkenburg Castle Foundation respects the privacy of everyone who visits its website. All information collected about you is used firstly to comply with your request and secondly to improve our service to you. To this end, we make appropriate use of the relevant information.

Contact details
General information

The nature of Valkenburg Castle Foundation’s activities means that it processes and stores personal data.

We are obliged to ask for your consent for this purpose. If you do not wish to give this consent, we will not be able to process the requests you make through this website.

If you do agree, you have two options: you can indicate that Valkenburg Castle Foundation may use your data for your request only or that it may use your data for further contact (always in accordance with the privacy statement as set out below).

Can third parties access your data?

The information will not be transmitted to third parties outside Valkenburg Castle Foundation, its affiliated undertakings or dealers, agencies, and licensees of these undertakings, or to other undertakings in conjunction with which Valkenburg Castle Foundation directly or indirectly provides services to you. The information will be treated in accordance with relevant data protection legislation and be stored and processed in the European Union.
The information is used only in connection with the marketing of Valkenburg Castle Foundation’s products and services and related products and services.

Valkenburg Castle Foundation has entered into processing agreements with parties that perform necessary work and/or services for us to be able to deliver our services to you. Examples include Microsoft where your e-mail is processed and the ICT service provider that manages the network and server environment.

You are entitled to know which information we hold about you, so that it can be rectified, if necessary. You also have the right to ask us not to use this information. Although we will make every reasonable effort to address your wishes, certain statutory provisions may render this impossible.

Personal data that we process

Valkenburg Castle Foundation processes your personal data because you use our services and/or because you have provided these data to us yourself. Here is a list of the personal data we process:

  • First name and/or surname
  • Gender
  • Address details (place of residence, number, postal code)
  • E-mail address
  • Bank account number/Credit card details
  • IP address
  • Age/Date of birth
  • Other data that you actively provide, for example by creating a profile via the website, in correspondence, or by telephone

Valkenburg Castle Foundation does not process any special and/or sensitive personal data.

Personal data for each service

Via onze website kunt u bepaalde diensten reserveren, beoordelingen plaatsen of u kunt zich abonneren op onze nieuwsbrief. Hierna is per onderwerp aangegeven welke gegevens gevraagd worden en of de persoonsgegevens van het door u gekozen onderwerp verplicht ingevuld dienen te worden om uw verzoek te kunnen verwerken.

Type of service

Type of personal data

Purposes

Online ticketsFirst name
Surname
E-mail address
Bank details/Credit card
Contact person for the provision of services and payment processing
BookingGender (Mr/Ms)
First name
Surname
Address
Postal code / City
E-mail address
Contact person for the provision of services
PIN paymentBank details/Credit card
IP address paying with bank card via IP
Payment processing
Contact formGender (Mr/Ms)
First name
Surname
Address
Postal code / City
E-mail address1
Telephone number
Contact person for the provision of services
NewsletterSurname
E-mail address
Age/Date of birth
Contact person for the provision of services. Analysis of services and marketing

When you voluntarily choose to use Klantenvertellen, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and TripAdvisor via our website, the personal data you provide to these parties are not part of this privacy statement and Valkenburg Castle Foundation refers you to the privacy statements, conditions, etc. of the relevant providers.

E-mail processing

An email address is personal data when it belongs to a specific person. For example because it contains the name of the person, but also an ‘info@businessname.nl’ address if this is the e-mail address of a self-employed person who personally manages that e-mail address. It is therefore no longer only the e-mail addresses of consumers that fall within the definition of personal data. Business e-mail addresses may also be classified as personal data.

Valkenburg Castle Foundation may store your data. This is usually also necessary to be able to communicate with you, perform the agreement, or send the invoice. Valkenburg Castle Foundation may also store your data if you have given your consent for this purpose.

Your e-mail is retained in a secure environment for two years after it is received. After two years, your e-mail messages will be permanently deleted, unless statutory provisions prevent this.

Both your and our e-mails are scanned for viruses and there is an active spam filter.

E-mails sent to you via our website are sent in encrypted form using a digital ID, also known as a digital certificate. A digitally signed message constitutes proof for the addressee that you have not logged into the content of another person’s message, and that the content has not been changed during transmission. Valkenburg Castle Foundation uses the certification method of the certification body Let’s Encrypt.

E-mails sent via our regular e-mail system (Outlook-Exchange) are also sent in encrypted form. For this purpose, we use the certification method of Comodo and Microsoft Exchange.

Withdrawing consent to receive our newsletter

If you wish to unsubscribe from our newsletter or commercial e-mails, please call us on telephone number +31 (0)43-8200040 and ask for Karin America. You can also use the ‘Unsubscribe from this newsletter’ button/check box. You will receive a clear confirmation that you have unsubscribed and what you have unsubscribed from.

For what purpose and on what basis does the Valkenburg Castle Foundation process personal data?

Valkenburg Castle Foundation processes your personal data for the following purposes:

  • To deliver/process goods and/or services
  • To process payments
  • To send its newsletter and/or advertisements
  • To contact you by telephone or e-mail
  • To inform you about changes to services or products
  • To be able to comply with a statutory obligation.
Automated decision-making

Valkenburg Castle Foundation confirms that no automated decision-making is used during the processing of personal data.

For how long does Valkenburg Castle Foundation retain personal data?

We do not retain your personal data for longer than is strictly necessary to achieve the purposes for which your data are collected. The retention period starts as soon as you make a reservation, complete an online booking, send a contact form, or request a newsletter. We apply a two-year retention period to the personal data you provide.

How does Valkenburg Castle Foundation protect your personal data?

We take the protection of your personal data very seriously and implement appropriate measures to prevent misuse, loss, unauthorized access, unwanted disclosure and unauthorized alteration. If you have the impression that your data is not secure or there are indications of misuse, please contact us.

Does Valkenburg Castle Foundation share personal data with third parties?

Valkenburg Castle Foundation confirms that personal data is not shared with other parties.

Does Valkenburg Castle Foundation’s websites use cookies?

Valkenburg Castle Foundation only uses technical and functional cookies. Cookies are explained further under Frequently asked questions, question 9: ‘What are cookies?’

Exercising your rights

Valkenburg Castle Foundation enables clients to exercise their rights as follows. Please contact us by e-mail if you wish to:

  • have your data altered, rectified or deleted
  • have access to see which of your data have been registered and how they have been registered
  • object to the recording or processing of data
  • have your data transferred to yourself or another party.

    You will receive a reply from us within four weeks of submitting your request.
Enforcing your rights

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) gives you the right to access, rectify, and delete these data. You are also entitled to withdraw your previously granted consent for data processing or to object to data processing, and you have the right to data portability. You are entitled to request us to transfer the data that we hold of you to you or to another party.

We are obliged to provide the relevant data in a commonly recognized and used FORMAT (e.g. an Excel table). This right is limited to data that you have provided yourself and the data that are processed for the performance of the agreement. You can contact us to enforce your rights.

Each request for access, rectification, deletion, objection, and data portability will be answered within 4 weeks.

If you believe, for reasons of your own, that we have not acted in accordance with the legislation, you can file a complaint with the Dutch Data Protection Authority.

Frequently asked questions
  1. Valkenburg Castle Foundation collects my data, but how does this benefit me?
  2. What information can Valkenburg Castle Foundation’s website collect?
  3. How does Valkenburg Castle Foundation collect and store this information?
  4. For how long does Valkenburg Castle Foundation store this information?
  5. Where are my personal data stored?
  6. Why does Valkenburg Castle Foundation collect this information?
  7. To whom does this policy apply?
  8. How does Valkenburg Castle Foundation protect children’s privacy?
  9. What are cookies?
  10. How can I rectify data stored about me?
  11. What are the options if I register?
  12. What happens if I do not wish to register?

Valkenburg Castle Foundation collects my data, but how does this benefit me?

By collecting this information, Valkenburg Castle Foundation hopes to achieve the following, among other things:

  1. The site will be more user-friendly for you, because you only need to enter your data once
  2. We can provide you with certain information quicker
  3. We can provide information that is more relevant to you
  4. You can find certain services or information of Valkenburg Castle Foundation quicker
  5. We can make improvements to the site
  6. We can identify general trends in the use of the website
  7. You will be informed of new products, special offers, new information, and other new services that Valkenburg Castle Foundation believes might interest you

     

What information can Valkenburg Castle Foundation’s website collect?
Valkenburg Castle Foundation wants to give you as much control as possible over your personal data. You can generally visit Valkenburg Castle Foundation online without disclosing who you are or revealing any specific information about yourself. In some cases, we need more information, such as your name and address or telephone number. We intend to notify you before we collect any information from you online.

Before registering, we also collect anonymous information about the way in which you use the website. This is a standard procedure applied by all websites. The information we collect in this way does not personally identify you. However, we may use this information for marketing purposes or to improve our services. If you choose to provide personal information to Valkenburg Castle Foundation online, for example to be able to correspond with you or provide you with a subscription, we intend to let you know how this information is used. If you notify us that this information may not be used for any further contact with you, we will comply with this request.

How does Valkenburg Castle Foundation collect and store this information?
There are several ways in which the website can store information about you: either by asking you directly (such as a reservation form) or by automatically recording certain data about your visit to the site. For example, we can record which pages of the site you are successively viewing or record which options you choose on the site. All these data are retained in a secure location in the Netherlands. Completed reservation forms are stored in a MySQL Database. This database is periodically backed up.

Security is ensured by both physical and technical means. The data are not generally accessible.

For how long does Valkenburg Castle Foundation store this information?
Valkenburg Castle Foundation retains this information in a secure environment for as long as we believe that the data will help us gain a better understanding of how we can be of service to you (while observing your wishes). An example would be analysing recurring groups that have visited us.

The GDPR does not prescribe a specific retention period. Valkenburg Castle Foundation applies a two-year retention period after you have submitted data to us.

We may also be legally obliged to retain data for a certain period of time. See the question ‘How can I rectify data stored about me?’ elsewhere in this section for more information on adapting retained data.

Where are my personal data stored?
Valkenburg Castle Foundation operates in the Netherlands. In order to provide you, our client, with a proper service, wherever you are, we manage our website from a single central location. This is currently in the Netherlands.

Why does Valkenburg Castle Foundation collect this information?
We need this information to improve our service to you. We want to make it easier to tailor our products and services to your specific needs.

To whom does this policy apply?
This policy applies to websites that are created for use by consumers and business visitors.

How does Valkenburg Castle Foundation protect children’s privacy?
It is important to properly protect children’s privacy. We will therefore never knowingly collect or store information on our website from persons under the age of 13.

Website security

Is the website secure?
The Internet in itself is not secure. Always bear this in mind when posting information online. The personal data that Valkenburg Castle Foundation collects on its website are stored in a secure environment that is not accessible to the public. In some cases, your personal data are encrypted using an appropriate security technology before the transaction is performed.

SSL is used to activate a secure internet connection. Security software, including a virus scanner, firewall, VPN connection, and encryption software, is also activated automatically.

These three standards are normally used together to check that the sender (an e-mail address) and transmitter (a computer system) of an e-mail are indeed correct and that the content of an e-mail message has not been changed en route.

iFrame

When you click the [Zelf beoordelen] (Self-Assessment) button of ‘Klanten vertellen’ (Tell customers) under ‘Beoordelingen ruïne en rondleidingen grot’ (Reviews of castle ruins and cave guided tours), you will be redirected to the Klantenvertellen website and what is known as an iFrame will be activated.

An iFrame is a snippet of HTML code that a frame from another website can retrieve and thus place on our website. An example would be a YouTube film that has been placed on our website. The code that is added in that case is in an iFrame. Another example where you may encounter an iFrame is when we add a folder to the website with Google Maps. It is also possible to upload an entire third-party website into a website using an iFrame.

Valkenburg Castle Foundation only activates iFrames on the websites of trusted parties. YouTube, for example, is a reliable party, as are Google Maps and Klantenvertellen.

Web beacons

Valkenburg Castle Foundation’s websites do not use web beacons (transparent GIF images). Valkenburg Castle Foundation does not work with other companies to place web beacons on their websites or advertisements. Valkenburg Castle Foundation does not offer an option for not cooperating in the collection or use of personal data when a website visitor clicks on a certain link, such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TripAdvisor, Klantenvertellen.

Conclusion

We trust that this privacy statement has given you a clear picture of our privacy policy. However, if you have any questions about how we deal with personal data, we would be happy to hear from you. The first point of contact for privacy aspects in our organisation is Ms Karin America, marketing@kasteelruinevalkenburg.nl / +31 (0)43-8200040.

Back to the Middle Ages. The rich history of the Middle Ages lives again with a visit to the Castle Ruins in Valkenburg aan de Geul, and its history dating back to the 11th century!

The Velvet Cave has many secrets. Discover a treasure trove of impressive wall murals, inscriptions, strange sculptures in the soft marlstone walls and a romantic chapel dating from the French period (18th century).

Want to relax after an exciting climb to the ruins? You can have a drink or bite while enjoying a delightful view in our restaurant overseeing Valkenburg and the hilltop castle

Daalhemerweg 27 | 6301 BJ Valkenburg aan de Geul

Gratis toegang met de museumkaart!

Daalhemerweg 27 | 6301 BJ Valkenburg aan de Geul

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