Enchanting castles
Remember you can click on the small pictures to get a big one


WISSEKERKE



Raas Van Borsele laid down the first stones of castle Wissekerke in 1238. In 1510 the castle was sold to Lieven Van Pottelsberghe, counselor for Emperor Carl. Lieven left the castle to his son Frans who died without a heir. So the castle went to Frans’s mother who gave it to her brother Servaas Van Steenlandt. The castle got destroyed in 1562 by the army of Marnix van Sint-Aldegondon . They started to restore the castle in 1590 and in 1803 they filled up the moat in front of the castle. Architect J.B.Pisson replaced the square windows with the one's you see now.The last major restorations took place in 1850 and in 1906. In the park you see the world's oldest hanging bridge which was engineered by architect Vifquin in 1820. The bridge is 28 meters long and can hold 40 tons. The family of Count VILAN XIIII lived in the castle until 1987. After that it became property of the village of kruibeke
It is possible to visit the castle with a guide for 500 BEF per hour or you can rent parts of the castle. For more information call +32 3 740 04 00 (8.00am – 5.00 pm). You can find Wissekerke a bit to the South of Antwerp on the left bank of the river


CLEYDAEL



Castle Cleydael borrows its name from the clay that was found in this area. Above the entrance door you can read the slogan “ex valle pinguedo” or in English “clay from the valley”. Cleydael is a square water castle and is completely surrounded by a moat. The four towers are called “Fox tower”, “Chapel tower”, “Owl tower” and “Cat tower”. The family Sanders of Hemiksem commissioned to build a “Fox tower” and so in the 14th century the first contours of this castle became visible . Throughout the next centuries more and more parts were build until we have the castle we still can admire now. Lots of famous people stayed in the castle, like Cromwell and the Duke Of Alva to name a few.
The castle is at the moment an exclusive hotel and restaurant. But the exploitation of the castle as hotel and restaurant will be stopped in the near future. There is also a golf club in the buildings surrounding the castle.
You can find the castle when you drive from Antwerp to Boom via the A12. Take the exit Hemiksem (at the McDonalds) and after a few hundred meters you will see the castle on your right. Beware, you are not allowed to take pictures of this castle.
Legend says that the moat was the home of a serpent with nine eyes of silver who kept an eye on the safety of the castle.
One of the owners, "Cornelis Sanders" lost also his head here because he supported Jacoba van Beieren against "Filips de Goede".
The following families owned the castle throughout history, "Sanders van Hemessem", "Cleydael", "van der Elst", "del Rio", "Hooftman" and Hellemans".


HET STEEN



Het Steen are the remains of a castle which was once the center of the city Antwerp, the city developed as time went by further outside the walls of this castle. We find the first traces of this building in the written history in 645 when it is mentioned in “The Life Of H-Eligius”. From other documents we learn that the Vikings destroyed the castle in 836. After that a wooden fence was build which was replaced around 1200-1225 by a stone wall. Inside these walls there were many more buildings than “Het Steen” as we know it now (what we see now are parts of the dwelling of the castle lord). The St Wallburgis church, the so called “House of Giants” a “refugee house” the "Abbey of Affligem" and of course also the houses of the inhabitants. Het Steen got restored in 1520 by Emperor Carl V. you still can see his escutcheon and his saying above the main entrance gate of the current museum.
“Het Steen” served for many purposes throughout the centuries. It was once even a jail but that dark era ended in 1823. The city of Antwerp bought “Het Steen” in 1842. In 1864 it opened its doors again as a museum of local history and archeology. Now it is the National Maritime Museum. Open everyday except for Monday and you pay 100bef to get in


HET GRAVENSTEEN



You can find this impressive castle in the city of Gent. The Gravensteen as we know it now is the work of Filip van den Elzas, who was Count of Flanders from 1157 until 1191. On this location were already three other castles built before Filip started his building campaign to impress the inhabitants of Gent and to keep them between the lines. But the city became bigger and bigger and the castle lost it’s military purpose so the castle was furnished as residence for the Counts. These Counts left the building in 1353 and went to a more luxurious housing. From then on the castle got all kind of functions. It was also a prison for a while. The castle became private property in the 19th century and was turned into a textile factory. The city bought the castle back in 1887 and started to restore the castle. Today the castle is a tourist magnet and the historical halls are often used as a backdrop for concerts and theatrical plays.
You can visit the castle for 200 BEF.
The areal view pic is scanned from a postcard.


RENESSE



The family “Oostmalle” disappears in the 13th century into the family of the mighty lords of Berchem. “Willem van Berchem” builds in the 15th century a castle on the grounds of Oostmalle. “Elisabeth van Berchem” marries in 1450 with “Wauthier van Hamal” a knight from a famous Luiks dynasty. Their daughter marries in 1501 with “Frederik van Renesse” a lord from Zeeland. The lady from Oostmalle reaches a very high age and survives all her brothers and full cousins and so she inherits the complete fortune of “Marie-Madeleine van Hamal” duchess of Croy-Soria”. This is the start of the golden are of Renesse. Even “Karel V” and “Margareta van Parma” stayed in the castle. Later on the lineage would spilt up in two parts and play a big part in history.
The castle is sold in 1830 to count “du Bus de Gisignies”. His great-granddaughter marries in 1896 count “de Renesse Breidbach” so with this marriage the castle becomes back property of the “Renesse” dynasty.
The castle was in 1542 destroyed by “Maarten van Rossem” and it was rebuild three years later. The family “du Bus” does some minor changes to the castle and it was completely restored shortly after the First World War in neo renaissance style.
In 1967, a devastating tornado struck the village and destroyed big parts of the village and the complete park but the castle itself was spared.
Until the castle became property of the village Oostmalle in 1983 the castle was owned by only three families since the Middle Ages – the “Berchems”, the “Hamals”, “The Renesses and for a short period “du Bus”.


VÊVES



In the village of Celles,close to Dinant, you will find the fairy tale like castle of Vêves. The castle was built on a rocky outcrop in 1410 and although various alternations have been made none spoil the fairy tale outlook of the castle. The castle is still in the hands of the same family. Inside you can learn everything about the late medieval and 18th century life in a castle.
I visited the castle in July 2000 and had to pay 190Bef for a 30-minute tour. If you are in the neighborhood of Dinant then this castle is something you have to visit.


FREYR



This castle was built in the 16th century. In the 18th century it came into the hands of the family Beaufort-Spontin who remodeled the castle. You can say that Freyr is a small Versailles. A few years ago a flood from the nearby river Maas damaged the castle. Everything got restored again and you can take a guided tour through the castle and its beautiful garden. I took the tour in July 2000 and paid 240Bef. The tour lasted about three hours and the guide told lots of interesting and fascinating stuff. Like in 1675 coffee was tasted for the first time in this castle when a historical treaty was signed. The interior of the castle is simply breathtaking and also the gardens are impressive. You can find the castle a few kilometers to the south of the city Dinant in an impressive setting along the left bank of the river Maas. The castle is certainly worth a visit.


CHARLEMONT FORTRESS



When you drive from Dinant to the south a long the river Maas you will end up in Givet (France). The fortress, which was built in 1555 by Emperor Charles Quint dominates the view of the city. In 1678 Vauban enlarged the fortress. You can visit the fortress, I arrived however after openings hours so I can’t tell you if it is worth a visit. It looks however very impressive when you look at it from the valley.


HIERGES



The Hierges Castle was built in one night, tells the legend, by Melusine the fairy, and it counted 365 windows. It's from Hieges that Melusine came from, she was also called Sybille of Lusignant and will be the queen of Jerusalem. Melusine of Hierges was a direct descendant of the famous fairy melusine (the eldest of the line still having the same renowned name). Her father was Manasse of Hierges, who made himself known during the Crusades. She married a significant man Guy of Lusignant. She was also the lady of the mannor Samson, where it is said she participated to the battles to defend the castle (see the walkway of the Samson Cliff, which crosses through the ruins' castle). According to certain rumors she would have died of the plague in 1190 in front of Saint Jean of Acres, according to other it was in 1187 in Samson. Anyway, if you stop by the church of Nameche, you can see in the center a tombstone with the following inscription "Here lies the bones of Sybille of Lusignat queen of Jerusalem deceased in the year of 1187".


CREVE COEUR



The ruins of this old stronghold are very heart warming. Many heroic battles were fought here. From the first rock of CREVE COEUR you can see as far as Houx-Poilvache and Dinant, the view is very prestigious.
In the XI century, "Godefroy of Namur" built on the left bank of the Meuse in Bouvignes a castle that "Henri the blind of Luxemburg" had surrounded with walls in 1176. At the highest point, which dominated the whole valley, "Marie of Artois" had a rectangular keep built in the XIV century.
On a separate rock, the tower of Creve-Coeur was built in 1320. It was facing the tower of Montorgueil, built on the other side of the river by the Dinantais the enemies of the Bouvignois. The Dinantais were partisans of the Church of Namur and the Bouvignois were partisans of the Church of Liege.
In 1554, the French King "Henry II", who was then at war with "Charles Quint", destroyed Dinant and Bouvignes. The famous legend of the Ladies of Creve-Coeur (les Dames de Creve-Coeur) comes from that time. While the two enemy towns were burning, Creve-Coeur resisted with 300 brave warriors under the orders of "Pierre Harroy". In the middle of the battle, 3 officers were killed and their wives took over commandment, pointing the canons encouraging the brave knights who were still defending the castle. When the battle ceased, because they ran out of ammunitions, the three heroines held each other by the hand and jumped from the castle, choosing to die instead of being captured.
Only the foundations of the very heavy tower is left from this incredible place, The ruins are located 26 Km of Namur where the N17 goes to Bouvignes.
The visit is free.


NOISY



Noisy was built in the 19th century facing the castle of Vêves across the valley.
The family "Liedekerke-Beaufort" built this neo Tudor castle to live in a more comfortable environment than in Vêves.
After the second World War, the family moves to a farm nearby and leased Noisy to the Socialist Mutuality, who left it after a period. It has been abandoned since then and even partly arsoned.
It is not possible to take any pictures close up of this castle. I found these two old pictures and they give you a good idea how this impressive castle looks like